Samantha Woll, 40, a Detroit synagogue board president, was found stabbed to death on Saturday outside of her home, police said in a statement shared with The Daily Beast.
The authorities received a 911 call Saturday morning from an individual about someone lying on the ground unresponsive, the police said.
Woll, who served as board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue since 2022, was found with “multiple stab wounds,” and a trail of blood leading to her residence, police said in the statement.
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“Police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred,” the statement said.
Emergency personnel declared her dead at the scene, the police said.
The death of the synagogue president comes at a time of increased antisemitism around the globe in reaction to the Israel-Hamas war, following Hamas terrorists’ attacks on Israel. A U.S. intelligence alert from the FBI, DHS, and the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, which The Daily Beast obtained, warned earlier this week that the recent events in Israel have “heightened” the risk of violence in the United States inspired by or in reaction to the war.
Woll’s case is assigned as a homicide right now, although police said the motive at this time is “unknown.”
Detroit Police Chief James White released a statement on Saturday night that said his department “mobilized many of its resources and has been leveraging every law enforcement and community resource it has to help further the investigation.”
“Understandably, this crime leaves many unanswered questions. This matter is under investigation, and I am asking that everyone remain patient while investigators carefully examine every aspect of the available evidence. It is important that no conclusions be drawn until all of the available facts are reviewed.”
The Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue said they were in a state of shock about Woll’s death.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death of Samantha Woll, our Board President,” the synagogue said on a social media posting. “At this point we do not have more information, but will share more when it becomes available. May her memory be a blessing.”
Woll used to work for the re-election campaign of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
Nessel described Woll as a kind person and said she was devastated to hear the news about her death.
“I am shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder,” Nessel said. “Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known. She was driven by her sincere love of her community, state and country. Sam truly used her faith and activism to create a better place for everyone.”
Slotkin said that she and the entire team were “heartbroken” about the news.
“I and all of Team Slotkin is heartbroken at this news. Sam worked for me from nearly the moment I became a Congresswoman, helping us set up the office & helping to lead it for my full first term,” Slotkin said. “She did for our team as Deputy District Director what came so naturally to her: helping others & serving constituents. Separately, in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness.”
“My heart aches that we have lost someone so dedicated to serving others in such a senseless act. I’ll miss her relentless desire to serve & her bright smile seemingly everywhere across the Detroit area,” Slotkin added. “Team Slotkin shares in the deep grief of her family & her greater community.”
Noah Arbit, a Jewish representative in the Michigan House of Representatives, shared his heartbreak at losing Woll.
“I am shattered and broken and unable to move. I have no adequate words. There was no kinder human being than Sam Woll. She was love and light personified. She would text you randomly to check in and say hi. She was always looking out for others,” Arbit said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Sam was a gift to this world… It is inconceivable that someone could commit such an act of evil against another human being, let alone one so good as Sam Woll.”
Detroit’s mayor Mike Duggan shared his condolences and memories of Woll on X.
“I was devastated today to learn of the loss of one of Detroit’s great young leaders—Samantha Woll,” he said. “Just weeks ago, I shared a day of joy with Sam at the dedication of the newly renovated Downtown Synagogue… Sam’s loss has left a huge hole in the Detroit community. This entire city joins with her family and friends in mourning her tragic death.”
The fatal stabbing comes almost a week after a landlord in Illinois killed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, in what authorities say they are investigating as a hate crime. The U.S. intelligence memo also warned that there has been a rise in recent days in anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim rhetoric in recent days throughout the United States, and that Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities are likely to be targeted.
