8 Dead, Several Others Shot At Pittsburgh Synagogue

8 Dead, Several Others Shot At Pittsburgh Synagogue


October 27, 2018 at 11:35 amFiled Under:Active Shooter, Andy Sheehan, Local TV, Meghan Schiller, Squirell Hill, Tree of Life Synagogue


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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Eight people have been killed and a number of others injured after a shooting situation at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Saturday.

KDKA’s Meghan Schiller reports that a suspect, a white male, has surrendered. The SWAT team had been talking with the suspect, and he was crawling and injured. It is unclear the extent of his injuries.

Three police officers were also shot. their conditions are currently unknown.

Police sources tell KDKA’s Andy Sheehan the gunman walked into the building and yelled, “All Jews Must die.” Sheehan confirmed that eight people were confirmed dead. Others had been shot but the extent of their injuries in unknown at this time.

https://cbspittsburgh.files.wordpres...pg?w=420&h=236Photo Credit: Tim Lawson/KDKA

President Donald Trump Tweeted his thoughts to the Pittsburgh area amid the tragedy.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...00m_normal.jpgDonald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Watching the events unfolding in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement on the scene. People in Squirrel Hill area should remain sheltered. Looks like multiple fatalities. Beware of active shooter. God Bless All!

8:08 AM - Oct 27, 2018

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When officers arrived, the gunman reportedly shot at them, forcing officers to use their vehicles as a shield.

The shooting happened during weekly Shabbat services at the conservative Jewish Synagogue, the building was full was full of people for a Saturday service and police say they’ve received several calls from people barricaded inside the Synagogue.

https://cbspittsburgh.files.wordpres...pg?w=420&h=236Photo Credit: KDKA

Two of Pittsburgh’s professional sports teams, the Steelers and Penguins, Tweeted their thoughts and prayers to the victims.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...9Pv_normal.jpgPittsburgh Steelers

✔@steelers

We send our thoughts and prayers to those affected by this morning’s tragedy in Pittsburgh. We will continue to pray for everyone involved.

8:32 AM - Oct 27, 2018

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https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...7Di_normal.jpgPittsburgh Penguins

✔@penguins


We are incredibly saddened to hear of this morning's tragedy at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. We send our thoughts and prayers to all those affected.

8:40 AM - Oct 27, 2018

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Stay with KDKA.com for this developing story.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018...squirrel-hill/

• BREAKING NEWS
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  Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect identified by law enforcement officials as Robert Bowers
  
  Law enforcement officials identified the suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting as Robert Bowers.
  Click here for more.
• For more news, please go to FoxNews.com and watch Fox News Channel.
  https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?ur...ZpkLaLLu2Q--~C

23 min ago
This is a photo of the suspect Robert Bowers

From Josh Campbell
Below is a photo of suspect Robert Bowers, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
Bowers, 46, made anti-Semitic comments during the synagogue shooting, a law enforcement official told CNN. He was taken into custody, police said.

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/li...ac62c5727.jpeg

Shooting near Pittsburgh synagogue: At least 11 dead, suspect in custody

It is believed the suspect was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and multiple handguns, local law enforcement said.

https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC...484;7;70;5.jpg

Oct. 27, 2018 / 10:00 AM CDT / Updated 1:03 PM CDT
By Kalhan Rosenblatt, Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst

A suspect was in custody on Saturday morning after a fatal shooting near the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where Sabbath services were taking place, according to local officials.

At least 11 people were killed, according officials. Two suffered injuries that are "critical and serious in nature" and four police officers, three of whom were shot, had non-life-threatening injuries, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich.
"It’s a very horrific crime scene. It’s one of the worst that I've seen," Hissrich said. "It's very bad.”

https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC...484;7;70;5.jpg

Pittsburgh official: Synagogue crime scene is 'one of the worst I've seen', 20

Hissrich declined to say whether children were among the injured but said he believed a service was occurring at the time of the attack.

Officials said the suspect, identified by multiple law enforcement officials as Robert Bowers, 46, of Pittsburgh, was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and multiple handguns.

Social media accounts that appear to belong to Bowers contained posts with anti-Semitic messages and hate speech. It is believed Bowers said, "All Jews must die," before opening fire in the synagogue.

Hissrich said the FBI would be leading the investigation. The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety tweeted that the shooting would be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Congregants told MSNBC that a circumcision celebration, known as a bris, was taking place in the synagogue this morning.

Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted on Saturday morning that there was an active shooter in the area around the synagogue and said to avoid the area. Pittsburgh Police Commander Jason Lando said there were multiple casualties.

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Suspect in synagogue shooting made anti-Semitic remarks, 2

Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh since 2004, told NBC News affiliate WPXI that he rushed to the area when he heard about the shooting.

“I just feel horrible for all those people inside,” Finkelstein said. “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.”

Rabbi Chuck Diamond, a former spiritual leader of Tree of Life, told reporters that he never spoke to his congregation about what to do during a shooting, but it's something he thought about.

"There's a lot of anti-Semitism out there and a lot of hate out there," Diamond said. "Sobering that it's touched our community."

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted that the organization was working with law enforcement to "push back on prejudice."

https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newsc...e.fit-760w.jpg

Law enforcement run with a person on a stretcher at the scene where multiple people were shot on Oct. 27, 2018, at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.Alexandra Wimley / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP"We are devastated. Jews targeted on Shabbat morning at synagogue, a holy place of worship, is unconscionable," Greenblatt wrote. "Our hearts break for the victims, their families, and the entire Jewish community."

Greenblatt said the shooting "is likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States."

"It is simply unconscionable for Jews to be targeted during worship on a Sabbath morning, and unthinkable that it would happen in the United States of America in this day and age," he said.

Following the attack, the social media platform Gab said in a statement that the site verified an account as matching the alleged shooter's identity.


https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newsc...7.fit-760w.jpg

Shooting suspect Rob Bowers."Gab took swift and proactive action to contact law enforcement immediately. We first backed up all user data from the account and then proceeded to suspend the account. We then contacted the FBI and made them aware of this account and the user data in our possession," the statement read.

Agents from the Pittsburgh field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also responding to the shooting incident.

Trump said at the National Future Farmers of America Convention and Expo in Indiana on Saturday that "this was an anti-Semitic act."

"You wouldn’t think this would be possible in this day and age but we just don't seem to learn from the past," he said. "Our minds cannot comprehend the cruel hate and the twisted malice that could cause a person to unleash such terrible violence during a baby naming ceremony."

Earlier in the day he tweeted, "Events in Pittsburgh are far more devastating than originally thought. Spoke with Mayor and Governor to inform them that the Federal Government has been, and will be, with them all the way."

Vice President Mike Pence also tweeted his prayers to the victims and said he was also monitoring the situation.

"Monitoring reports of shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Praying for the fallen, the injured, all the families impacted, and our courageous first responders," Pence wrote. "God bless them all."

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images...00m_normal.jpgDonald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump

Watching the events unfolding in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Law enforcement on the scene. People in Squirrel Hill area should remain sheltered. Looks like multiple fatalities. Beware of active shooter. God Bless All!
10:08 AM - Oct 27, 2018

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf tweeted that Pennsylvania State Police were also assisting with the shooting.

"We are still learning details about the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh but it is a serious situation ... keep the congregants and law enforcement in your prayers," Wolf wrote.

Across the country, cities said they would be stepping up police presence at houses of worship, including in New York City, Baltimore and Los Angeles.

A vigil at the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Squirrel Hill was planned for Saturday night, and another vigil in New York City was scheduled.

Shabbat morning services began at 9:45 a.m. at the Tree of Life Congregation, which is in close proximity to Carnegie Mellon University, according to its website. The Conservative congregation was founded more than 150 years ago and is led by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who came to the synagogue in August 2017.

Saturday mornings are when Shabbat services take place in the Jewish faith and are typically the busiest time of the week.

Squirrel Hill is considered a historic Jewish enclave and center for Jewish life in Pittsburgh, and it is considered home to more than a quarter of Jewish households in the Pittsburgh-area, according to a Brandeis University study of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish community.

More than 80 percent of Squirrel Hill residents said they had some concern or were very concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism. Many also reported incidents of anti-Semitic experiences in the past year, from insults and stereotypes to physical threats or attacks, according to the study.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...agogue-n925211

https://youtu.be/_M6MQn875L0

https://youtu.be/_M6MQn875L0

Breaks the heart. An expected attack that leaves many dead and wounded and lives torn apart. God comfort family and friends and heal the wounded.

Life is fragile. A reminder to say "I love you" and "forgive me" and "I forgive you" to loved ones and friends. Say other messages and words in calls, emails, and letters.

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