Parents of U.S. synagogue suspect speak out
The parents of the 19-year-old college student suspected of attacking a Southern California synagogue said Monday that they are shocked and saddened that “he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated on Jewish people for centuries.” John T. Earnest’s parents said they raised him and his five siblings in a family, faith and community that rejected hate.
“Our son’s actions were informed by people we do not know, and ideas we do not hold,” the parents said in a statement, which didn’t include their names.
A gunman on Saturday burst into the Chabad of Poway near San Diego on the last day of Passover, and opened fire with an assault-style rifle, killing a woman and wounding a rabbi and two others. “How our son was attracted to such darkness is a terrifying mystery to us, though we are confident
PARENTS OF SUSPECTED SYNAGOGUE SHOOTER BAFFLED BY SON’S DARK PATH
that law enforcement will uncover many details of the path that he took to this evil and despicable act,” the statement said.
Earnest’s parents, who are co-operating with investigators, said their sadness “pales in comparison to the grief and anguish our son has caused for so many innocent people.”
Earll Pott, a family attorney who issued the statement, said the parents will not provide a legal defence for their son, who will likely be represented by a public defender. They asked for privacy. About five minutes before the attack, the FBI said it received tips about a threatening social media post.
The tips to an FBI website and hotline included a link to the anonymous post but did not offer specific information about its author or the location of the threat.
The bureau said Monday that employees immediately tried to determine who wrote the post, but the shooting occurred before they could establish his identity.
One of the tipsters told The Associated Press that he called the FBI tip line at 11:15 a.m. Saturday because the post linked to a manifesto that said the author was responsible for a mosque arson in the city of Escondido, Calif., last month. The shooting happened at about 11:30 a.m., and Earnest surrendered moments afterward. He is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The online manifesto written by a person identifying himself as John Earnest was an anti-Jewish screed posted about an hour before the attack.
The poster described himself as a nursing school student and praised the suspects accused of carrying out attacks on mosques in New Zealand that killed 50 people last month and at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue that killed 11 on Oct. 27.
About 100 congregants were worshipping when the gunman killed Lori Kaye, 60, and wounded the synagogue’s rabbi, Yishoel Goldstein; eight-year-old Noya Dahan; and her uncle Almog Peretz.
Noya had finished praying and gone to play with other children at the synagogue when gunshots rang out. Her uncle grabbed her and the other children, leading them outside to safety as her leg bled from a shrapnel wound. He was wounded in the leg. “I was scared, really, really scared,” said Noya, recalling how the group of children cried out of fear. “I didn’t see my dad. I thought he was dead.”
The rabbi, who lost one of his fingers, said he was preparing for a service and heard a loud sound, turned around and a saw a young man wearing sunglasses standing in front of him with a rifle.
“I couldn’t see his eyes. I couldn’t see his soul,” Goldstein said.
And then, Goldstein said, “miraculously the gun jammed.”
In the moments that followed, the rabbi said he wrapped his bloodied hand in a prayer shawl and addressed congregants outside. Authorities said Earnest had no previous contact with law enforcement and may also be charged with a hate crime when he’s in court this week.
Police searched his house in San Diego and said he also was being investigated in connection with the March 24 arson attack at the mosque in nearby Escondido.
California State University, San Marcos, confirmed he was a student on the dean’s list.
After the gunman fired numerous rounds, the ARtype assault weapon might have malfunctioned, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said. An off-duty Border Patrol agent fired at the shooter as he fled, missing him but striking the getaway vehicle, the sheriff said.
Earnest called 911 to report the shooting, and when an officer found him on a roadway, he “pulled over, jumped out of his car with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody,” San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said.