Callers Concerned When Man Was Seen With Camera Wednesday.
BY: 24/7 CRIME DESK | BocaNewsNow.com
UPDATE: 11:10 a.m. — PBSO confirms to BocaNewsNow.com that no one was arrested as no crime was apparently committed.
UPDATE at 11:01 a.m. — While a significant number of parents reached out to BocaNewsNow.com asking us to investigate the situation which unfolded on Wednesday, several parents Thursday morning are now threatening BocaNewsNow.com for reporting on a public incident that involved the police. We note several more are thanking BocaNewsNow.com for the coverage.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A man described by callers as “suspicious” on the property of Temple Beth El’s Beck Family Campus near Yamato Road and U.S. 441 Wednesday afternoon led to a response by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The facility, home to a large preschool, sits near a strip shopping center but offers little in the way of barriers preventing the general public from gaining entrance to its parking lot. That’s why staffers apparently were concerned when they noticed an Asian-appearing man with a Phillies baseball cap taking photos while school was in session.
BocaNewsNow.com obtained the initial incident report filed by responding PBSO Deputies. The following is the unedited narrative:
“Staff from Temple Beth El observed an Asian male in his late 60’s dressed in beige pants, black coat, and a Philly ball cap taking pictures of the building and the people coming and going from it. When approached male only spoke a Chinese dialect and provided a Chinese ID card. A translator (was) found and was able to speak with the male. Male had just made it to the country and was staying with his daughter. He believed that this was a park and was taking pictures of the area.”
The report raises as many questions as it answers. Temple Beth El’s Beck Family Campus does not look like a park, nor does it sit on a park that is visible from the front. It sits on a parking lot near a Dunkin Donuts and Gary Woo Express. There is a green area in the back of the facility but that is largely inaccessible. Multiple parents contacting BocaNewsNow.com say it is concerning that Temple Beth El appears to not be paying for a PBSO Detail at the facility as the threat of Anti Semitism rises due to the Israeli-Hamas conflict. This specific incident occurred just as President Biden publicly concurred with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the IDF was not responsible for an explosion at a hospital on the Gaza Strip. Those comments have led to increased outrage among Palestinian supporters.
The man taking photos on the property of Temple Beth El was apparently not arrested. There is no jail record of a man matching the description of the suspect as of 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Sources say that Temple Beth El’s security team has only notified parents and staff members of the incident Wednesday evening, after it learned that PBSO provided information to BocaNewsNow.com.
