June 10, 2009 – New York – AJC expressed its sorrow over the death of a security guard shot down in a midday assault at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, apparently by a white supremacist. The gunman was injured in an exchange of gunfire, and has been hospitalized under police custody.

 “This was a horrific attack on an institution at the heart of our nation’s capital that stands witness to the inhumanity of Nazism,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the brave security guard, who was struck down while protecting this vital institution, its visitors and its staff.”

Law enforcement officials named the gunman as 88 year-old James W. von Brunn, a known white supremacist who maintains a racist and anti-Semitic website.

“Even though such heinous ideas remain marginal in our country, today’s tragic event is a reminder of the need to both remain vigilant and teach the value of tolerance,” Harris said.