BROOKLYN — The two men seen on video taking pictures of Midwood synagogues on Saturday were cleared of all suspicion by police, days after an alert about their activity prompted officials to beef up security for area houses of worship.
The two men, whose identities were not released, had traveled in from Connecticut to have dinner with friends near the synagogues that evening when they decided to take a stroll around the neighborhood and take some photos before the meal, sources said.
Their tourist trip was caught on video surveillance outside the Congregation Beth Torah, on Ocean Parkway near Avenue J, at about 4:15 p.m., followed by a visit to Congregation Bet Yaakob, on Ocean Parkway near Avenue R, about 75 minutes later, according to a video a witness posted to YouTube.
The video prompted the NYPD to ramp up security at synagogues, while a local councilman David Greenfield urged people to call 911 on the pair on Twitter.
On Monday evening, a tipster recognized the two men from the video reported their names to the NYPD, sources said.
NYPD detectives visited their homes in Connecticut and spoke to them, and corroborated their story about visiting friends in Midwood, officials said.
The men were released without charges and the event was deemed unsuspicious, police said.