Pittsburgh in shock, grief after shooting
11 VICTIMS OF ‘HATE CRIME’ INCLUDE A 97-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
Authorities have named the 11 people killed on Saturday when a man armed with three pistols and a semi-automatic assault-style rifle attacked a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
The dead include a 97-yearold woman, a husband and wife, and two brothers — all of whom were at services inside the Tree of Life synagogue, when Robert Bowers allegedly burst in through an open door, screaming anti-Semitic slurs and firing away. The Pittsburgh resident, 46, is also accused of wounding six other people, including three police officers shot during a firefight.
Bowers allegedly burst into the synagogue’s regular Saturday 9.45am service with an AR-15-style rifle and three handguns, authorities said.
Police received calls about an active shooter at 9.54am and dispatched officers a minute later. Police said Bowers left the building and encountered the responding officers, shooting one before retreating into the synagogue to hide.
Officers pursued Bowers to the synagogue’s third floor, according to a criminal complaint. He allegedly opened fire, shooting two officers multiple times and critically wounding one of them before he was wounded in the gun battle and captured.
According to the complaint, while Bowers was in custody with multiple gunshot wounds, he told a SWAT operator “that he wanted all Jews to die and also that they [Jews] were committing genocide to his people.”
The authorities immediately labelled it a hate crime. Federal prosecutors filed 29 counts against Bowers, charging him with federal civil rights crimes.
Leaders condemn killings
Under a persistent drizzle on Saturday, more than 500 people stood shoulder-to-shoulder at a vigil in front of Sixth Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh to express shock and anger over the mass shooting.
Political, religious and civic leaders condemned Saturday’s massacre. “We simply cannot accept this violence as a normal part of American life,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, said during an afternoon ■
We are all, in truth, wounded by this inhuman act of violence. May the Lord help us put out the flames of hate that develop in our societies, strengthening the sense of humanity, respect for life...”
Pope Francis This wicked act of mass murder is pure evil, hard to believe, and frankly something that is unimagineable.”
Donald Trump | US President
Canadians’ hearts are with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh today. May the families of those murdered be comforted, and may the injured recover quickly and fully.”
Justin Trudeau | Canada’s PM
Anti-Semitism is a menace to democratic values and peace, and should have no place in the 21st century.”
Antonio Guterres | UN Secretary-General
news conference, his voice shaking. “These senseless acts of violence are not who we are as Pennsylvanians, they’re not who we are as Americans.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto called the attack the “darkest day of Pittsburgh’s history,” after the victims’ names were read out yesterday morning, and disputed US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the synagogue should have had armed guards.
Trump denounced the massacre, suggesting a more frequent and speedier use of the death penalty, saying it should be “brought into vogue.”
“It’s a terrible, terrible thing, what’s going on with hate in our country and frankly all over the world,” Trump said.