Eleven people were killed Saturday morning during a mass-shooting at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that ended in the arrest of a single suspect, Robert Bowers, and the recovery of multiple weapons.
Six victims were wounded, including four law enforcement officials in stable condition, authorities said during an afternoon press conference. The shooter, a 46-year-old Pittsburgh resident, likewise sustained injuries.
The FBI are treating the incident as a hate crime, and President Trump said the shooter deserves the death penalty.
“Anyone who does a thing like this to innocent people … they should really pay the ultimate price,” Mr. Trump told reporters prior to heading to a farming event in Indiana.
The rampage unfolded during morning services, turning the Jewish house of worship into a gruesome crime scene the city’s public safety director, Wendell Hissrich, compared to a “plane crash.”
“This is the most horrific crime scene I’ve seen in 22 years,” echoed Bob Jones, FBI special agent in charge at the bureau’s Pittsburgh office, adding that 11 people were “brutally murdered by a gunman simply targeting them because of their faith.”
The Tree of Life Synagogue reported an active shooting situation at 9:54 a.m. Saturday morning, and law enforcement officers were dispatched within seconds, Mr. Hissrich said at a press conference.
Law enforcement officials engaged the suspect upon arriving, and two police officers and two SWAT officers were among the six victims who suffered non-fatal injuries, Mr. Hissrich added.
Police arrested the suspect around 20 minutes after the first shots were fired and subsequently recovered weapons including an assault rifle and three handguns, Mr. Jones told reporters.
Mr. Bowers was not known to law enforcement prior to the incident, and authorities suspect he acted alone, the FBI agent added.
“The FBI will work around the clock to get the answers to how and why this happened,” he told reporters.
Located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of eastern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s second largest city, The Tree of Life Synagogue hosts weekly services every Saturday morning, according to its website.
An internet account allegedly operated by Mr. Bowers on Gab, a social media platform, made multiple anti-Semitic comments prior to the rampage, including as recently as Saturday morning.
“I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in,” the user wrote.
The Department of Justice is expected to file charges as soon as Saturday evening.
“This should not be happening, period,” said Jeff Finkelstein, chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the main fundraising and planning organization for the local Jewish community. “It should not be happening in a synagogue. It should not be happening in our neighborhood here in Squirrel Hill,” he told reporters Saturday.
“This is an absolute tragedy,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat. “We must all pray and hope for no more loss of life. But we have been saying ’this one is too many’ for far too long. Dangerous weapons are putting our citizens in harm’s way.”
Speaking with reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., President Trump suggested lives could have been saved had armed security been in place.
“If they had an armed guard inside, they might have been able to stop him immediately,” Mr. Trump said. “Isn’t it a shame that we even have to think of that, inside of a temple or inside a church? But certainly the results might have been far better.”
First lady Melania Trump posted on Twitter, “My heart breaks over the news out of #Pittsburgh. The violence needs to stop. May God bless, guide & unite the United States of America.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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