Shooting kills 11 in Pittsburgh synagogue

SHOOTING, federal prosecutors, who are investigating the killings as a hate crime, could seek the death penalty against the suspected shooter, who was in custody.

The shooting unfolded over 20 minutes at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, known locally for once being the real-life neighborhood of the public television host Fred Rogers.

The gunman was armed with an assault rifle and three handguns, officials said. He yelled, “All Jews must die!” as he walked into the synagogue, police told local television reporters.

The suspected gunman, identified as Robert Bowers, 46, of Pittsburgh, wounded two of the first officers who arrived at the scene as he tried to leave and later wounded two more SWAT officers inside the synagogue before he was shot and taken into custody, officials said.

Watching officers run into the danger “and remove people and get them to safety was unbelievable,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said at a news conference.

“Without their courage, this tragedy would have been far worse,” said Wendell Hissrich, Allegheny County public safety director. None of the dead were children. Officials said two of the wounded were in critical condition. The suspect remained hospitalized Saturday afternoon.

“The Department of Justice will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty,” Sessions said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

Later Saturday, authorities said Bowers was charged with obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.

The charges also include 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder, weapons offenses and charges alleging Bowers seriously injured police officers while obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs.

Bob Jones, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, called the shooting “the most horrific crime scene I’ve seen in 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“Members of the Tree of Life Synagogue conducting a peaceful service in their place of worship were brutally murdered by a gunman targeting them simply because of their faith,” he said.

Because the shooting is being treated as a hate crime, the FBI quickly took charge of the investigation, coordinating with local law enforcement, authorities said.

Bowers probably acted alone and had no known criminal record, Jones said.

A social media user under Bowers’ name had called Jews “the children of satan” and made posts before the attack alluding to neo-Nazi ideology and threatening HIAS, a refugee agency founded to assist Jews.

Law enforcement officials familiar with the case confirmed that they believe the posts were made by the shooting suspect.

“HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” said a post made Saturday at 9:49 a.m. Saturday — five minutes before police received the first 911 call from the synagogue. “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”

The post was made on Gab, a small social media service popular with white nationalists and other far-right users.

The reference to “optics” is a significant one among the small world of white nationalists and signals that the suspect had a familiarity with the political dynamics of the American white-nationalist movement. It alludes to debate among far-right figures over whether to avoid violence or aggression, which often draws negative attention to the movement from the general public.

Mark Hetfield, chief executive of HIAS, said he was “in a state of shock” to hear that his organization was named by the shooter. “It’s horrible,” Hetfield said. The refugee resettlement group organized a “refugee Shabbat” event last week at which more than 300 synagogues across the country came together to “celebrate our tradition of welcoming refugees.” He said it was unclear if the Pittsburgh synagogue participated.

“It’s horrible that refugees are fleeing for aid, and the Jewish community is doing so much to embrace them and then this tragedy unfolds.”

HIAS, founded in 1881 as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to assist Jews fleeing persecution in Russia, since 2000 has served a broad range of refugees of all faiths from around the world, helping them resettle in the U.S.

President Donald Trump called for armed guards at synagogues and implied that lax security by the synagogue was at least partially to blame for the high death toll. “If they had protection inside, the results would have been far better,” he said. “If there was an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop him, maybe there would have been nobody killed, except for him, frankly.”

Later, Trump called the attack an “antiSemitic act” that “shocked and stunned” the nation and the world. “It looks definitely like it’s an anti-Semitic crime. That is something you wouldn’t believe could still be going on,” Trump told reporters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “heartbroken and appalled by the murderous attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue.”

The banner image on the Gab account with Bowers’ name featured the number “1488,” a reference to the “14 words” embraced by white nationalists — commonly known as “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” — along with 88, which is numerical code for HH, or “Heil Hitler.”

The shooting is likely to draw attention to Gab, a service that has repeatedly drawn controversy for its willingness to allow white nationalists and neo-Nazis who have been banned from more mainstream platforms such as Twitter.

Gab said in a statement that it was “saddened and disgusted by the news of violence in Pittsburgh,” and said it has a “zero tolerance policy” for terrorism and violence on the service.

The service, which has often been criticized for hosting far-right users, also pre-emptively defended itself from another expected wave of public criticism.

“We refused to be defined by the media’s narratives about Gab and our community,” saying the service’s mission is “to defend free expression and individual liberty online for all people.” The Washington Post contributed to this article.