‘Deadliest attack’ on Jews in the US
THE suspect in the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue told officers that Jews were committing genocide and that he wanted them all to die, according to a charging document.
Robert Gregory Bowers allegedly killed eight men and three women inside the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday during worship services before a tactical police team tracked him down and shot him, police said in the document, which contained some previously unreported details on the shooting and the police response.
Calls began coming in to 911 from the synagogue just before 10am on Saturday, reporting “they were being attacked”, the document said.
Bowers shot one of the first two officers to respond in the hand, and the other was wounded by “shrapnel and broken glass”.
A tactical team found Bowers on the third floor, where he shot two officers multiple times, the affidavit said.
One officer was described as critically wounded; the document did not describe the other officer’s condition.
Two other people in the synagogue, a man and a woman, were wounded by Bowers and were in stable condition, the document said.
Bowers told an officer while he was being treated for his injuries “that he wanted all Jews to die and also that they [Jews] were committing genocide to his people”, the affidavit said.
Bowers was charged late on Saturday with 11 counts of criminal homicide, six counts of aggravated assault and 13 counts of ethnic intimidation in what the leader of the Anti-Defamation League called the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.
The nation’s latest mass shooting drew condemnation and expressions of sympathy from politicians and religious leaders.
With the mid-term election just over a week away, it also reignited a longstanding and bitter debate over guns.
Pope Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh on Sunday in the Vatican’s St Peter’s Square.
President Donald Trump said the outcome might have been different if the synagogue “had some kind of protection” from an armed guard, while Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov Tom Wolf, up for reelection, noted that once again “dangerous weapons are putting our citizens in harm’s way”.
Calling the shooting an “evil anti-Semitic attack,” President Trump ordered flags at federal buildings throughout the US to be flown at half-mast in respect for the victims.
In the city, thousands gathered for a vigil on Saturday night. Some blamed the slaughter on the nation’s political climate.
“When you spew hate speech, people act on it. Very simple. And this is the result. A lot of people dead. Senselessly,” said Stephen Cohen, co-president of New Light Congregation, which rents space at Tree of Life.
The names of the victims were read out by officials at a press briefing on Sunday morning.
Mayor Bill Peduto said: “To the victims’ families and friends – we will be here to help you through this horrific episode – the darkest day of Pittsburgh’s history. We as a society are better than this, we know that hatred will never win out.”
Melvin Wax, 88, was the first to arrive at New Light Congregation in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighbourhood – and the last to leave.
Other victims were Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Joyce Fienberg, 74; Daniel Stein, 71; brothers Cecil, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54; Richard Gottfried, 65; Sylvan Simon, 88 and his wife Bernice, 84 Irvin Younger, 69 and the eldest victim, Rose Mallinger, 97.