Man fires shotgun, shouts ‘Free Palestine’ outside Jewish temple with preschoolers inside

Albany police officers gather outside Temple Israel, on Thursday in Albany, N.Y. A 28-year-old suspect was in police custody for allegedly firing two rounds from a shotgun outside the Jewish temple on Friday, just hours before the start of Hanukkah. Officials said no one was injured and police they did not know the man's motive.(AP Photo/Maysoon Khan)

A man fired shotgun blasts and shouted "Free Palestine" outside a Jewish temple Thursday in Albany, New York, where at least two dozen children — including preschoolers — were inside. 

The suspect, a 28-year-old male, fired the shotgun outside Temple Israel around 2 p.m. A passerby talked to the gunman near the temple about 10 minutes after the shots were fired.

The man dropped the shotgun before officers arrived on the scene and detained him, Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins told reporters at the scene. 

"We were told by responding officers that he made a comment, 'Free Palestine,'" Hawkins said.

Though no one was injured, and the school was placed on lockdown. Parents were notified and were able to retrieve their children, who have since been safely released, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a press conference. 

"The prospect of violence in a place of worship is not just an attack on a building, it's an attack on the very fabric of our society, our freedom to express our faith, our collective shared sense of safety," Hochul said.