11 killed, 6 hurt in US synagogue shooting

Agunman yelling “All Jews must die” stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue yesterday, killing at least 11 worshippers and wounding six, including four police officers, before he was arrested.

“It’s a very horrific crime scene, one of the worst that I’ve seen,” Pittsburgh public safety director Wendell Hissrich said. “This falls under hate crime,” he said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation will lead the probe into the attack. The suspect was identified as a 46-year-old Pittsburgh man, Robert Bowers.

A social media post by Bowers said a Jewish refugee organisation, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”

President Donald Trump hit out at a climate of “hate” in America — while his daughter Ivanka, a convert to Judaism, denounced a “depraved” attack and Vice-President Mike Pence called it “an assault on our freedom of religion.”

The attack comes at a time of sharp tensions in the US — a day after a Trump fan from Florida was arrested for mailing explosive devices to Democratic figures, setting the country on edge ahead of close-fought elections on November 6.