Woman (97) among those shot dead

Pittsburgh – A 97-year-old woman, two brothers and a couple in their 80s were among the 11 worshippers murdered at a Pittsburgh synagogue, officials said yesterday.

David and Cecil Rosenthal, 54 and 59-year-old brothers; Sylvan Simon, 86, and his wife Bernice Simon, 84; Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, Daniel Stein, 71, Melvin Wax, 88 and Irving Younger, 69, were killed, according to officials.

The oldest victim was Rose Mallinger, 97, of Squirrel Hill.

Five of the victims lived in Squirrel Hill and the rest were from other Pittsburgh neighborhoods and communities surrounding the city.

The suspected gunman, 46-year-old Robert Bowers of Pittsburgh, had made anti-Semitic posts online and shouted about killing Jewish people during the attack.

He will appear before a judge today, US Attorney Scott Brady said at a news conference. “The fact that this attack took place during a worship service makes it even more heinous,” he said.

The Tree of Life synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, a heavily Jewish area, was holding a Shabbat religious service when the gunman burst in.

The mass shooting prompted security alerts at houses of worship around the country and condemnation from politicians and religious leaders.

It followed a spate of pipe bombs found mailed in recent days to prominent political figures, mostly Democrats, including former US President Barack Obama, ahead of the November 6 congressional elections.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Fox News that DHS officials visited the Pittsburgh synagogue in March to provide training on active shooter responses.