At least eight people were killed, and four police officers wounded during a mass shooting at a synagogue Saturday morning by a man who shouted, “All Jews must die” during his killing spree.
Reports from the scene said police have identified the shooter as 48-year-old Robert Bowers. KDKA reported that the shooting occurred at The Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill region of Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said at least six people were wounded including the four officers. As of 1:30 p.m. local time, five victims had been taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital to undergo treatment for their wounds. Four required surgery, but the fifth victim was treated and released.
One patient, meanwhile, was transported to UPMC Mercy Hospital and needed surgery, while it is believed that Bowers was taken to Allegheny General Hospital.
KDKA reported that witnesses said the gunman walked into the synagogue and shouted, “All Jews must die!” before opening fire. He fired at police when they arrived on the scene.
The synagogue was full of people who were there to attend Saturday service. Several barricaded themselves inside the building while contacting police on their cellphones.
NBC News added that Bowers was reportedly armed with an AR-15-style rifle and multiple handguns. Bowers, the network noted, is a resident of Pittsburgh.
The network also said that social media accounts linked to him contained a number of posts with anti-Semitic, anti-POTUS Trump messages, including some that suggested the president was ‘owned’ by Jews.
At the time of Bowers’ alleged attack, congregants were attending a circumcision celebration, which is called a bris. (Related: Trump-hating, Jew-hating terrorist murders Jewish Americans at Saturday synagogue slaughter.)
Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh since 2004, told NBC News affiliate WPXI that he immediately went to the area of The Tree of Life Synagogue when he heard about the attack.
“I just feel horrible for all those people inside,” Finkelstein told the station. “You know, everyone thinks about Israel in situations like this. It’s just shocking to come back to Squirrel Hill and see something like this.”
‘It’s a terrible thing what’s going on with hate’
Rabbi Chuck Diamond, a former spiritual leader of Tree of Life, said he never addressed the situation of a mass shooting with his congregants but that he's thought a lot about it in recent years.
"There's a lot of anti-Semitism out there and a lot of hate out there," Diamond told reporters. "Sobering that it's touched our community.”
Told of the attack, POTUS Trump, before getting aboard Air Force One, said that armed guards at the synagogue may have prevented much of the tragedy.
“They had a maniac walk in and they didn’t have any protection and that is just so sad to see. The results could have been much better,” he told reporters.
“It’s a terrible thing what’s going on with hate in our country, and frankly all over the world and something has to be done,” he continued. “It’s just a shame to watch this and see it for so many years, so much of it, it’s a shame.”
Asked (of course) about toughening gun laws, the president stated the obvious.
“This has little to do with it. If they had protection inside the results would have been far better. But they didn’t and [the shooter] was able to do things that unfortunately he shouldn’t have been able to do,” he said.
The Gateway Pundit reported that Bowers’ archived Gab.ai page contained much anti-Semitism.
“Jews are the children of Satan. (john 8:44)” he allegedly wrote in his intro.
There is also plenty on the page to indicate that Bowers believed POTUS Trump was a ‘puppet’ of Jewish leaders.
“Posts from the suspected Pittsburgh shooter Robert Bowers. He hated Trump and thought Trump was controlled by Jews. This monster is an unhinged anti-Semitic terrorist,” Robby Starbuck wrote on Twitter in a post containing alleged images of Bowers’ anti-Semitic and anti-Trump Gab entries.
https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/1056212048990867457
Read more about the rising levels of violence in America at Violence.news.
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