ninjapundit

The Anti-Defamation League said it believes this is "the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States". It is the largest mass shooting in the United States since the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting eight months earlier.^[5]

Background[edit]

Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha is a Conservative Jewish synagogue. The synagogue describes itself as a "traditional, progressive, and egalitarian congregation".^[6]

It is located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Carnegie Mellon Universityand about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of downtown Pittsburgh.^[6]^[7] The Squirrel Hill neighborhood is one of the largest predominantly Jewish neighborhoods in the United States and has historically been the center of Pittsburgh's Jewish community, with 26 percent of the city's Jewish population living in the area.^[8]^[9]

Tree of Life, founded in 1864 in downtown Pittsburgh, merged in 2010 with the recently-founded Or L'Simcha.^[10] The modern synagogue building, located at the intersection of Wilkins Avenue and Shady Avenue in Squirrel Hill, was built in 1953; it rents space to Dor Hadash (Hebrew: דור חדש‬), a Reconstructionist congregation, and New Light, another Conservative congregation.^[11]^[12]^[13] The synagogue's main sanctuary has a capacity of 1,250 people.^[14]

Incident[edit]

The suspect, described as a "bearded heavy-set white male", entered the building and shouted, "All Jews must die!" before opening fire.^[12] The shooting took place during scheduled Shabbat morning services and a bris.^[7]^[2]^[15] A member of the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh told reporters that between 60 and 100 people were inside the building at the time of the incident.^[16]

Police received calls describing the attack from people barricaded in the building during the shooting, beginning at 9:54 a.m. EDT (13:54 GMT).^[17]^[18] At 9:59 a.m., police arrived at the synagogue.^[19]^[18] At 10:30 a.m. tactical teams entered the building, and at 11:08 a.m. the suspect crawled out of the room in which he was hiding on the synagogue's third floor, surrendered, and told police: "All these Jews need to die."^[18]

Victims[edit]

Eleven people were killed, including three on the ground level, four in the synagogue's basement, and one other in the building.^[20] Six others were injured, including four police officers who were shot.^[17] The majority of the victims were transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital and UPMC Mercy, while the suspect was transported to Allegheny General Hospital.^[17]^[21]^[22]

The 11 victims who were killed were:^[23]^[24]

Joyce Fienberg, 75
Rich Gottfried, 65
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Cecil Rosenthal, 59
David Rosenthal, 54
Bernice Simon, 84
Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 88
Irving Younger, 69

Suspect[edit]

Local authorities identified the suspect as Robert Bowers, a 46-year-old resident of Baldwin, Pennsylvania.^[25]^[26]^[27] After a shootout with police, he was taken into custody.^[28] While receiving medical care, he told a SWAT officer that he "wanted all Jews to die" and that Jews "were committing genocide to his people" according to a criminal complaint filed in Allegheny County.^[29] He was subsequently transported to a hospital.^[28]^[30] Bowers was armed with an AR-15 rifle (considered an assault weapon) and three handguns.^[2]^[7]^[30]

Bowers has been charged with 29 federal criminal counts, including obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs (a hate crime) and using a firearm to commit murder.^[2]^[3]^[31] The federal charges include 11 counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, 11 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence, four counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.^[31]Bowers was also charged with at least 30 state counts, including 11 counts of criminal homicide, six counts of aggravated assault and 13 counts of ethnic intimidation.^[2]^[3]

Bowers' Gab social media profile was registered in January 2018 under the handle "onedingo", and the account's description was: "jews are the children of satan. (John 8:44) --- --- the lord jesus christ is come in the flesh". The cover picture was a photo with the number 1488, which is used by neo-Nazis and white supremacists to evoke David Lane's "Fourteen Words" and the Nazi slogan Heil Hitler. Bowers had published posts supporting the white genocide. Bowers also stated supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory were "deluded" and being tricked.^[32]^[33]^[34] He also reposted content by other anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi, and Holocaust-denying users,^[35]^[36]^[37] and he criticized President Donald Trump for being a "globalist, not a nationalist"^[38] and for supposedly being controlled and surrounded by too many Jews. Bowers stated on his Gab account “There is no #MAGA [Make America Great Again] as long as there is a [Jewish] infestation.”^[39]^[27]^[40]^[41] After the shooting, Gab contacted the FBI and suspended Bowers' profile.^[37]

A month before the attack, Bowers posted photos showing the results of his target practice, and a photo of his three handguns, calling them his "glock family".^[36] In the post, he identified the .357 SIG handguns as Glock 31, Glock 32, and Glock 33.^[35]

In the weeks before the shooting, Bowers reportedly made antisemitic posts directed at the HIAS-sponsored National Refugee Shabbat,^[42] in which Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue was participating.^[43]^[44]^[45]^[46] Among other things, Bowers is reported to have claimed that Jews were aiding members of Central American caravans moving towards the United States border and to have referred to members of those caravans as "invaders".^[47] Shortly before the attack, in an apparent reference to immigrants to the United States, Bowers posted on Gab that "HIAS 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."^[27]^[48]^[49]

Response[edit]

Governor Wolf makes a statement about the shooting.

Governor Tom Wolf from Twitter

@GovernorTomWolf

Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in our commonwealth. Any attack on one community of faith in PA is an attack against every community of faith. I want the Jewish community to know that we stand in support of you as we together mourn this senseless act of violence.

27 October 2018^[50]

President Donald Trump, Governor Tom Wolf, his running mate Braddock Mayor John Fetterman, and Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O'Connor released statements about the incident through Twitter.^[51] Trump called the shooting a wicked, anti-Semitic act of "pure evil."^[51] He also opined that the shooting was preventable: "If there was an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop him".^[52]^[53]^[54]He also suggested that cases such as this call for the death penalty.^[55]^[54] Michael Eisenberg, a former president of Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha congregation, said that the synagogue did have a police presence on the High Holy Days but that "on a day like today, the door is open. It's a religious service, you could walk in and out."^[52]

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, issued a statement saying the organization believes it is "the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States".^[56]^[57]^[58]^[49]

The campus of Carnegie Mellon University was placed on lockdown and all university-sponsored activities were cancelled for the day.^[13] Local residents were advised by police to remain in their homes and stay off the streets.^[20] On the evening of the shooting, over 3,000 people gathered at the intersection of Murray and Forbes Avenues in Squirrel Hill for an interfaith candlelight vigil organized by students from nearby Taylor Allderdice High School.^[59] Two additional vigils were also held in the neighborhood.^[60]

As of the morning following the shooting, a GoFundMe account had raised about $300,000 of a $1 million goal for the synagogue to repair its building and assist the survivors and families of those killed.^[61]

References[edit]

Jump up

External links[edit]

Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha official website

[1] EndPlay (October 28, 2018). "PITTSBURGH SHOOTING: What we know about Robert Bowers, suspect in mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue".

[2] Jump up to:a b c d e f Robertson, Campbell; Mele, Christopher; Tsvrernise, Sabrina (October 27, 2018). "11 Killed in Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre; Suspect Charged With 29 Counts". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[3] Jump up to:a b c d Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (October 27, 2018). "Magisterial District Judge 05-0-03 - DOCKET - Docket Number: MJ-05003-CR-0009000-2018 - Criminal Docket - Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Robert Gregory Bowers". Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

[4] Jump up^ "Synagogue Life". Tree of Life – Or l'Simcha Congregation. Retrieved 27 October 2018.

[5] Jump up^ Timothy Gardner, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom (October 27, 2018). Trump says Pittsburgh shooting has little to do with gun laws. Reuters. Retrieved: October 28, 2018.

[6] Jump up to:a b "Tree of Life * Or L'Simcha Congregation | Pittsburgh Synagogue". Tree of Life * Or L'Simcha Congregation | Pittsburgh Synagogue. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[7] Jump up to:a b c Rosenblatt, Kalhan; Winter, Tom; Dienst, Jonathan; Williams, Pete; McCausland, Phil (October 27, 2018). "Shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue: At least 11 dead, suspect in custody". NBC News. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[8] Jump up^ Paul, Deanna; Selk, Avi; Wang, Amy B. (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh synagogue shooting leaves multiple people dead and wounded". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[9] Jump up^ Smith, Peter (February 20, 2018). "Report: Pittsburgh Jewish community growing, spreading out". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[10] Jump up^ "About Us". Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[11] Jump up^ Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee (1996). The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 318. ISBN 9780313288562.

[12] Jump up to:a b Tibon, Amir; Landau, Noa; Kaplan Sommer, Allison; Maltz, Judy (October 27, 2018). "Eight Killed in Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting; Gunman Yelled 'All Jews Must Die'". Haaretz. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[13] Jump up to:a b Mamula, Kris; Goldstein, Andrew; Ward, Paula; Navratil, Liz; Bradbury, Shelly (October 27, 2018). "'Multiple casualties,' some fatalities in Squirrel Hill synagogue mass shooting". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[14] Jump up^ Scolforo, Mark; Gillispie, Mark (October 27, 2018). "Suspect in custody in Pittsburgh synagogue attack". Associated Press. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[15] Jump up^ Quinn, Allison; Shallwani, Pervaiz (October 27, 2018). "'Multiple Casualties' After Gunman Opens Fire at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[16] Jump up^ Hanson, Hilary; Miller, Hayley; Boboltz, Sara; Richards, Kimberley (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting: At Least 11 People Dead, Suspect in Custody". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[17] Jump up to:a b c Sheehan, Andy; Schiller, Meghan (October 27, 2018). "8 Dead, Several Others Shot At Pittsburgh Synagogue". KDKA. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[18] Jump up to:a b c CNN, STEVE ALMASY AND ARTEMIS MOSHTAGHIAN , (October 28, 2018). "Here's how the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue unfolded".

[19] Jump up^ Staff (October 27, 2018). "Multiple casualties at US synagogue". BBC News. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[20] Jump up to:a b Mann, Tanveer (October 27, 2018). "'At least eight dead' as shooter storms prayer service at US synagogue". Metro. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[21] Jump up^ "UPMC Treating Synagogue Shooting Victim" (Press release). University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[22] Jump up^ "Active shooter Pittsburgh: Police respond to reports of a shooting near the Tree of Life synagogue". CBS News. October 27, 2018.

[23] Jump up^ Levenson, Eric; Sanchez, Ray (October 28, 2018). "Mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue". CNN. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

[24] Jump up^ "Victims In Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Begin To Be Identified". CBS Pittsburgh. October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

[25] Jump up^ "Criminal Docket against Bowers, Robert Gregory" (PDF). Retrieved October 28, 2018..

[26] Jump up^ Turkewitz, Julie; Roose, Kevin (October 27, 2018). "What We Know About Robert Bowers, Suspect in Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27,2018.

[27] Jump up to:a b c Ward, Paula; Lord, Rich; Navratil, Liz (October 27, 2018). "29 federal charges filed against shooting suspect Robert Bowers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 27,2018.

[28] Jump up to:a b "Pittsburgh synagogue shooting leaves 8 dead, 4 officers injured; suspect in custody". ABC 7 Chicago. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[29] Jump up^ Chavez, Nicole (28 October 2018). "Pittsburgh synagogue gunman told SWAT he wanted all Jews to die, criminal complaint says". CNN. Retrieved 28 October 2018.

[30] Jump up to:a b Altdorfer, John; Swaney, Chriss (October 27, 2018). "Gunman targeting Jews kills 11 in Pittsburgh synagogue". Reuters. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[31] Jump up to:a b Ward, Paula Reed; Lord, Rich; Navratil, Liz (October 27, 2018). "29 federal charges filed against shooting suspect Robert Bowers - Social posts attributed to suspect may provide clues". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[32] Jump up^ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/27/pittsburgh-shooting-suspect-antisemitism

[33] Jump up^ Gormly, Kellie B.; Selk, Avi; Achenbach, Joel; Berman, Mark; Horton, Alex (October 27, 2018). "Suspect in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting charged with 29 counts in deaths of 11 people". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 October 2018.

[34] Jump up^ "What we know about the Pittsburgh shooting". BBC News. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.

[35] Jump up to:a b McBride, Jessica (October 27, 2018). "Robert Bowers: See Squirrel Hill Suspect's Social Media". Heavy.com.

[36] Jump up to:a b "Anti-Semitic social media posts may hold clues in fatal Pittsburgh shooting". Canada: The Globe and Mail. Reuters. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[37] Jump up to:a b Lorenz, Taylor (October 27, 2018). "The Pittsburgh Suspect's Internet of Hate". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[38] Jump up^ Kwong, Jessica (October 27, 2018). "Who is Robert Bowers? Suspect identified in the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting". Newsweek. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[39] Jump up^ https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/27/us/synagogue-attack-suspect-robert-bowers-profile/index.html

[40] Jump up^ Turkewitz, Julie; Roose, Kevin (October 27, 2018). "Who Is Robert Bowers, the Suspect in the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[41] Jump up^ Politi, Daniel (October 27, 2018). "Synagogue Shooting Suspect Robert Bowers Appears to be Anti-Semite Who Hates Trump". Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[42] Jump up^ "National Refugee Shabbat". HIAS. Retrieved 28 October 2018.

[43] Jump up^ "Suspect identified as Robert Bowers, 46, in Squirrel Hill synagogue shooting". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[44] Jump up^ Shannon, Sant (October 27, 2018). "What's Known About Robert Bowers, The Suspect In The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting". NPR. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[45] Jump up^ Weiss, Bari (October 27, 2018). "A Massacre in the Heart of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[46] Jump up^ Vesoulis, Abby (October 27, 2018). "How Gab Became the Social Media Site Where the Pittsburgh Suspect's Anti-Semitism Thrived". Time. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[47] Jump up^ Andone, Dakin; Hanna, Jason; Sterling, Joe; Murphy, Paul P. (October 28, 2018). "11 people killed in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, official says". CNN. Retrieved October 28,2018.

[48] Jump up^ Eric Levenson; Ray Sanchez (October 27, 2018). "Mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue". CNN. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[49] Jump up to:a b Kragie, Andrew (October 27, 2018). "The Synagogue Killings Mark a Surge of Anti-Semitism". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[50] Jump up^ Governor Tom Wolf [@GovernorTomWolf] (27 October 2018). "Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in our commonwealth. Any attack on one community of faith in PA is an attack against every community of faith. I want the Jewish community to know that we stand in support of you as we together mourn this senseless act of violence" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[51] Jump up to:a b Dedaj, Paulina; Joyce, Kathleen (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh synagogue shooting leaves 11 dead and 6 wounded; suspect hit with multiple charges". Fox News. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

[52] Jump up to:a b Kelly, Caroline; Sanchez, Ray; Stark, Liz (October 27, 2018). "Trump says Pittsburgh synagogue should have had armed guards". CNN.

[53] Jump up^ Stewart, Emily (October 27, 2018). "Trump laments Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, then suggests victims should have protected themselves". Vox.

[54] Jump up to:a b "A massacre in Pittsburgh illustrates America's disunity". The Economist. October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[55] Jump up^ "Trump says shooting would be different if synagogue had an armed guard". CNN. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[56] Jump up^ Greenblatt, Jonathan A. (October 27, 2018). "ADL Statement on Synagogue Shooting in Pittsburgh". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[57] Jump up^ Ford, Kaelyn (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: What we know about alleged mass shooter Robert Bowers". ABC News. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[58] Jump up^ Puskar, Gene (October 27, 2018). "Gunman attacks Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 people". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[59] Jump up^ Pitz, Marylynne; Smith, Peter (October 27, 2018). "Thousands gather for vigil honoring victims in Squirrel Hill shooting". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[60] Jump up^ Mele, Cristopher (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Leaves 'Several' Dead, Official Says". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[61] Jump up^ Lyons, Joseph D. (October 28, 2018). "Who The Victims Of The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Were And How To Help Their Families". Bustle. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[2]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[3]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

[56]

[57]

[58]

[59]

[60]

[61]

ninjapundit

Pages

Monday, October 29, 2018

Boston Newton Massachusetts Sweet Tomatoes Pizza Killer Crash

Lawsuit Warfare

Evon Stephens Brooklyn mall arson destroys 132 Mercedes Benz cars

Olympia Washington Government Office Bomb Threats

Sunday, October 28, 2018

stateofthenation2012 truth or propaganda

themillenniumreport propaganda conspiracy site

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Robert Bowers Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting

Tree of Life synagogue shooting - Wikipedia 10/28/2018

Contents