DEADLY SHOOTING ROCKS PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE
Suspect arrested in what FBI terms hate crime
At least 11 people are dead and six are injured after a man opened fire at Tree of Life Congregation yesterday morning in Pittsburgh in what the FBI is investigating as a hate crime. The suspect, Pittsburgh resident Robert Bowers, surrendered to police and was taken into custody after the attack. Bowers, who was armed with three handguns and an assault rifle, was taken to the hospital in fair condition but with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Wendell Hissrich, Pittsburgh's public safety director. Bowers’ full motive is still unknown and it is unclear if he was acting alone, according to Bob Jones, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh office. Four police officers were injured in the shooting, according to Don Yealey, chairman of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. One male officer with multiple extremity wounds is in critical condition while the other officers are recovering in the hospital with soft tissue or extremity injuries. One victim, a 70-year-old male with gunshot wounds to the torso, is in critical condition and the sixth victim is a 61-year-old female with soft tissue injuries. “This is the most horrific crime scene I have seen in 22 years of law enforcement,” Jones said. Scott Brady, the U.S. attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania, said in a news conference yesterday that criminal charges will be filed as soon as possible and justice will be “swift and severe.” FBI officials have promised to investigate Bowers’ home, vehicle and social media accounts as part of an ongoing investigation. President Trump, speaking at a press conference yesterday morning, expressed his condolences to the victims and grati- tude toward law enforcement officials. He said the shooting has “little to do” with gun laws. “If they had some kind of protection inside the temple, things would have been different, but they didn't,” said Trump, adding, “We see this happening again and again and again and it’s just a shame.”
Trump said in another press conference that took place yesterday afternoon that “people who do this should get the death penalty.” In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions echoed that sentiment. “These alleged crimes are reprehensible and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation. Accordingly, the Department of Justice will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty.” Yesterday’s shooting was “likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States,”
according to the Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish organization. “It is simply unconscionable for Jews to be targeted during worship on a Sabbath morning, and unthinkable that it would happen in the United States of America in this day and age,” the ADL said in a statement. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference yesterday that he was “heartbroken” by the attack. “The entire people of Israel grieve with the families of the dead.” Boston’s Jewish community was on high alert after the shooting yesterday. Ruby Rosenberg of the Boston University Hillel Foundation said the office doors, which are usually open to the public, were locked yesterday. Rosenberg said she expects a campus police presence at BU Hillel’s events this week.