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Overnight his lawyer stated he has a long history of Mental Illness. New yorks governor is calling the act an act of domestic terrorism. It is the latest in a string of incidents in the area. Lets begin our coverage with lucy kavanaugh where they were attacked inside of a church. What can you tell us . Reporter poppy, this morning the community here is grappling with the aftermath of yet another senseless act of violence. The attack taking place just before. 11 00 a. M. During the sunday services. At that church behind me yesterday. You see in the video because the service was live streamed, theres a man sitting in the back dressed in all back. He walked to the front of the church appearing to talk to somebody else before pulling out a shotgun and opening fire. Two Security Officers who were armed fired back. The whole thing over in just six seconds captured on camera. I want to show you that clip and warn our viewers that it is difficult and disturbing to watch. Keep your eyes on the upper lefthand corner of the screen. Lets play that video. [ gunshots ] reporter i know thats difficult to watch. This was not the first attack against a church here in texas. 26 people died in the 2017 Church Shooting in sutherland springs. In the wake of that, texas enacted a new law allowing licensed handgun owners to carry weapons inside service. The pastor here praising that law. Those two armed volunteer security guards taking down that suspect in six seconds. Take a listen. The citizens who were inside that church undoubtedly saved 242 other parishioners. Today is one sermon ill never preach. Itll go away. Leaving a legacy. Two men today left a legacy. But a congregation is going to build on that legacy. Reporter authorities are not releasing the identity of the shooter or the two victims. He is known to be a transient with roots to the area. Hes been arrested in multiple municipalties but he is not on any sort of terror watch list. Thats all we have for you right now. Just seeing the video and the silence and then the gunshots. Its tragic. Thank you for your reporting. We appreciate it. Now to the stabbing stree at a rabbis home outside of new york city where nearly 100 Orthodox Jews were celebrating hanukkah. Lets go live to new york where the stabbings unfolded. Brynn, what do we know about what happened and also the motive . Reporter yeah, poppy. Well, we know that a hundred people were gathered in this home here behind me celebrating the seventh night of hanukkah. It was supposed to be a night and peace and reflection and it turned into a night of terror. Reports are people were throwing furniture at this attacker, grabbing their loved ones, trying to get out of this house as the suspect pulled out a knife so big it was described as looking like a broom stick. A gruesome stabbing on the seventh night of hanukkah leaving five people injured just as the rabbi was lighting the menorah in his home right outside of new york city. Police say Grafton Thomas entered, pulled out a large knife, and began his stabbing spree. Nearly 100 people were gathered in the home celebrating saturday. I saw him walking in by the door. I ask who is coming in in the middle of the night with a umbrella. While i was saying that he pu pulled out the thing. Reporter after the attack, a witness says he tried to go to a nearby synagogue but the worshippers inside locked the door. This video captures the suspect fleeing the rabbis home running toward his car moments after the attack. Witnesses gave police a license plate number. A plate reader the suspects car crossing over the bridge where he was apprehended by police. Thomas was arraigned sunday morning charged with five counts of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty. In a statement, Thomas Family lawyer says he has no history of violent acts and has a long history of Mental Illness and hospitalizations. Thomas pastor who says she has known him for more than ten years echoed the sentiment. Grafton is not a terrorist. He is a man who has Mental Illness in america and the systems that be have not served him well. Reporter all five victims are hasidic jews. One was the son of the rabbi. Its we are in a completely different day. Reporter this attack comes just weeks after a deadly terror attack at a kosher supermarket in jersey city, new jersey. Over the last week, there have been at least nine attacks on jews in the new york area. Governor andrew cuomo says he wants to classify hate crime attacks against religious groups as domestic terrorism. I want this to be the first state to have a domestic terrorism law. To express how ignorant this is, how intolerant it is, and how criminal it is. And ill be proposing that law for this state. Reporter now, while Thomas Family points to a history of Mental Illness, authorities have not released details on a motive. We know thovmas is being held right now on bail. This town has the highest largest Jewish Population in the entire United States. This has rocked this community. Everyone is stepping up security around here. The Antidefamation League has issued a stark warning after the latest string of antisemitic attacks. Were going to talk about it next. The tempurpedic breeze™ makes sleep feel cool. Because the tempurbreeze™ transfers heat away from your body. So you feel cool, night after night. And now tempurpedic is ranked number one by jd power in Customer Satisfaction with retail mattresses. Male anchor . An update on the cat who captured our hearts. Female anchor how often should you clean your fridge . Stay tuned to find out. Male anchor beats the odds at the box office to become a rare nonfranchise hit. You can give help and hope to those in need. The Jewish Community in new york is on edge this morning after a stabbing in a suburb of new york city. The Antidefamation League says, quote, new york has a growing problem. This is at least the tenth antisemitic incident to hit new york area in months. Its a climate of fear thats been created in the orthodox Jewish Community. Over the past several years. Because the number of incidents, acts of vandalism and violence, have been growing against the Orthodox Community in particular. We see it in places like brooklyn, crown heights, williamsburg, now in muncie. Earlier in jersey city. Whether its shopping in their supermarkets or worshipping in synagogues, or even celebrating in their homes with then Jewish Community is underouve mention areas recently. You said you were just doing visits for people who were killed there. And on october 27th, 2018, the shooting at the tree of life synagogue. And this corresponds to a rise in antisemitic incidents that youve tracked up 99 since, what . 2015 . Thats correct. Thats a big rise. We have almost double the number of incidents as you said. You cant open up your browser without seeing slander on social media. Its disgusting. You cant open up the headlines without politicians and elected officials talking about dual locality and whatnot. It has to stop. Is it all connected though . The attack in the Hasidic Community there in jersey city, is that part and parcel to other things . Antisemitism comes in many forms. We have the highly organized. We have this kind of antisemitism which is a little less difficult to characterize. But the climate is the same and the outcome is the same. Jewish people feel insecure and they are. Has there been a mainstreaming of antisemischism in a way over the last few years . No doubt. This is the normalization of antisemitism. People think its okay to say there are conspiracies being created by people like george soros or others. You have these stereotypes that have moved from the margins into the mainstream. Thoughts and prayers, that is over. We need action. Do you need a federal law . We sure do. We want them to pass the domestic terrorism prevention act. We want them to pass the no hate act. Those things they dont exist. I dont think people realize they dont exist at the federal level. Its remarkable we dont take this kind of domestic terrorism seriously and we need to. But at the state and local level, im really glad Governor Cuomo said what he did yesterday. We need a Greater Police presence where jews are again vulnerable. And ill say one other thing. I feel very strongly about criminal justice reform. Weve talked about things like and youve seen politicians talk about bail reform. Which is important. If you jump a turnstile, im not sure bail is the most important thing. But if you brutalize a person because of the way they pray, if you attack an individual because of where theyre from, that should not be something where youre immediately getting released without bail. I want to ask about this case in particular, the suspect here you heard people close to him in that case claiming a Mental Illness. We have a lot to learn here and it will all come out, but i do think its important to note just because there is Mental Illness doesnt mean there cant be a tie to antisemitism. Couldnt the mentally ill be vulnerable to the messages that exist in our society . Of course. Look, i have sympathy and compassion for those who are mentally ill. But that doesnt dismiss someone bursting in with a machete. This isnt normal. We need politicians to act. We need legislation to be passed. But i will say this, Silicon Valley needs to stop allowing social media to be a breeding ground for bigotry. The mentally ill are exposed to the kind of hate you couldnt find in print media or broadcast. That seems to me to be a big part of the problem. You say it isnt normal. Im struck by the fact ive spoken to you in the last year or two. You keep having to come back to talk about this. If its not normal yet you keep coming back, what do you need to do . We need people in public spaces to speak out. But also ordinary citizens need to stand up and say we wont tolerate intolerance. Because youre right, john. When we see hate being normalized, all of us lose. Just one more question. I think its important. The Hasidic Community here in the United States, you think theyre particular targets because of the way they look, often. Its easy to see someone wearing a black hat and see them and pick them out of a crowd. I may not wear a black hat myself. I may worship at a different synagogue but were all brothers and sisters in the Jewish Community. Its an attack on all of us. And secondly, keep in mind, antisemitism may start with the jews, it never ends with the jews. Thats why all americans were affected by this crime. I think thats an Important Message from the adl over the decades. Thank you for being with us this morning. It is a powerful, Important Message this morning for all of us to consider. Ahead for us, an iranianbacked militia threatening revenge after being hit by u. S. Air strikes. What you need to know about the growing tension in the region ahead. Im finding it hard to sn top of things a faster laptop could help. Plus, tech support to stay worry free woory free. Boom boom get free business day shipping. At office depot, officemax and officedepot. Com robinwithout the Commission Fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. Developing overnight. Iranbacked militia in iraq now calling for u. S. Forces to be pushed out of that country. This comes after a series of attacks targeting these militias. We are live with the latest in an already tense region. Arwa . Reporter that might even be an understatement, john, given how serious the situation is with iraq basically telling both washington and tehran to stop using it as a proxy battlefield. Iran also has now warned of grave consequences following these strikes which according to the pentagon targeted five areas. Three of them in iraq, two of them in syria. The pentagon saying they were going after arms depots, weapons depots, as well as command and control centers belonging to this shia militia. It is backed by iran and was, in fact, one of the militias put under the umbrella of special groups actively targeting the u. S. Military back during the days of the u. S. Led occupation of iraq. The militia itself has said at least some 25 people were killed. Another 51 injured in these strikes. They put out a statement calling on their forces to begin preparing and planning for more operations to push as they said the enemy america out of the country. Now, iraqs caretaker Prime Minister has called these strikes a violation of iraq sovereignty. He was informed that the strikes would take place about half an hour before they did. He then asked that the u. S. Restrain america, however, as we know did not. And he is warning of a grave escalation. Now, the u. S. Has come close to retaliating against iran in the past. If youll remember, there were those strikes against oil tankers in the persian gulf. Then irans downing of a u. S. Drone. America, however, did restrain itself on those occasions. In this case, these particular attacks were in response to an attack outside of kirkok that ended up killing one u. S. Contractor. Of course the great concern in all of this is that if this situation escalates, that is detrimental not just to the stability of iraq but the region as a whole. Arwa, thank you very much. And the broader picture here in the stability of the region is critical. Lets talk to cnn military and diplomatic analyst john kirby. Good morning to you. Well get to the stability question in the region in a moment. But just talking about this group, because this is a Group Responsible for 11 rocket attacks in two months. Places where americans are based in iraq. The attack, the most recent one killed a u. S. Contractor, wounded four american troops. The explain the significance of these strikes. Well, what these the air strikes by the u. S. Were meant to retaliate against this group and their ability to conduct these kinds of attacks in the future. So they hit ammunition facilities, they hit a command and control facility, all trying to take out their ability to do this. Again, also to send a strong message that were not going to accept it. We have to wait to see where the reaction is. This group is supported by iran through their proxy organizations. You have to see how not only the militia groups react, but how iran reacts as well. I wonder what your read is on the Editorial Board writing, trump finally fires back at iran. Let me read part of their opinion piece. Mr. Trumps reluctance to use force in response to previous iranian attacks is one reason why general solomoni may feel he can get away with more attacks. Do you agree . And will these now deter any future attacks in. Certainly were meant to deter. Thats a very open question. Whether or not theyll be successful. I suspect iran will try to respond in some way. It most likely wont be in kind. But what well have to see. And look, i understand where the wall street journal is coming from. The president has shown more restraint than i think some people would like him to have shown in going after iran in the past. This one is a little different, though. Were not talking about them shooting down a drone or attacking tankers. Were talking about shia militia. Not iranian forces. Not Iranian Armed forces but militias on the ground. This strike was proportional. They struck at facilities that they know were involved in those prior 11 rocket attacks that weve seen over the last two months. So it was proportional. Very discreetly done. Listen to this from defense secretary mark esper. He was speaking yesterday and did not rule out further action. Here he was. I would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own selfdefense and we deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from iran. What does that tell you, admiral kirby, about where the administrations mindset is now . Because the wall street journal was referencing the fact that they did not respond in june after the drone was downed or after the Saudi Oil Field back in september. Yes. The key phrase in that clip you just showed was as necessary. I suspect whats happening now is u. S. Central command in charge of the armed forces in the region are looking at their force Protection Measures and taking necessary precautions to increase it as appropriate. Including perhaps even forced posture changes we dont know right now. Theyre getting ready for whatever come from iran. I think its important to remember that when we talk about escalation. It was the iranianshia militias. Finally before you go, what is your take on the response from iraqs Prime Minister calling it a violation of iraq sovereignty . As we understand it, there was no coordination with iraq but they were notified of the strikes. What do you make of this . One, weve got their own domestic politics to deal with. Theyve had huge protest about a young population in iraq that accuses their government ofve a there to deal with. They also want to keep a Good Relationship with iran. Thats their neighbor. The Prime Minister and the government are shia so they are tied, you know, at least from a religious perspective to iran. They have to have that relationship in good standing. But i found it ironic that the iraqi Prime Minister is accusing the americans of violating their sovereignty when a, were on the ground at their request to help support them in their fight against isis. And b, they havent said boo about the iranian support from militia groups inside their country which has be