The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
terrorist attack
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
which took place at the
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation () is a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation moved into its present synagogue building in 1953. It merged with Congregation Or L'S ...
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in the
Squirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated ...
neighborhood of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, United States. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Hadash, which also worshipped in the building, was attacked during
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
morning services on October 27, 2018. The perpetrator killed eleven people and wounded six, including several
Holocaust survivors
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...
. It was the deadliest attack ever on the
Jewish community in the United States.
A lone suspect, identified as 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers,
was shot multiple times by police and arrested at the scene.
Bowers had earlier posted antisemitic comments against
HIAS
HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Departme ...
(formerly, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) on the online
alt-tech
Alt-tech are social media platforms and Internet service providers that have become popular among the alt-right, far-right, and others who espouse extreme or fringe opinions, in the belief that these alternatives moderate content less stringe ...
social network
Gab.
Dor Hadash
had participated in HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat the previous week. Referring to
Central American migrant caravans
Central American migrant caravans, also known as the ("Migrant's Way of the Cross"), are migrant caravans that travel from Central America to the Mexico–United States border. The largest and best known of these were organized by (A People Wi ...
and
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
, Bowers posted a message on Gab in which he wrote 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."
He has been charged with 63 federal crimes, some of which are
capital crimes
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.
He has pleaded not guilty.
[Torsten Ove]
Robert Bowers, accused in Tree of Life synagogue shootings, arraigned
, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (February 11, 2019). He separately faces 36 charges in Pennsylvania state court.
Background
Tree of Life – ''Or L'Simcha'' Congregation is a
Conservative Jewish
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generat ...
synagogue. The synagogue describes itself as a "traditional, progressive, and
egalitarian
Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
congregation".
It is located in the
Squirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated ...
neighborhood of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, east of
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
and about east of
downtown Pittsburgh
Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...
.
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. About 26 percent of the city's Jewish population live in the area.
Originally founded as an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
congregation in 1864 in downtown Pittsburgh, by an early group of Jewish immigrants, Tree of Life merged in 2010 with the recently founded Congregation Or L'Simcha. The modern synagogue building, located at the intersection of Wilkins and Shady avenues in Squirrel Hill, was built in 1953. The congregation also rents space to Dor Hadash, a
Reconstructionist congregation; and New Light, another Conservative congregation.
The synagogue's main
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
has a capacity of 1,250 people.
Squirrel Hill has a low crime rate and is not generally regarded as racially tense. However, local
rabbinic student Neal Rosenblum was murdered in the neighborhood in 1986 in an
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
.
This 2018 mass shooting took place soon after
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
independently reported a spike in antisemitic activity online, especially on the popular social networking platforms
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.
In addition, other antisemitic acts had been committed elsewhere.
[
]
The immediate rise in the months of August to October 2018 was attributed to rising tensions associated with advertising for the
2018 US midterm elections.
A similar rise in online attacks had occurred during the
2016 US election,
[ with the midterms being a "rallying point" for far-right extremists to organize efforts to spread antisemitism online among the populace.][ In 2017 there was a 57% rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States,][ in context of rising hate crimes against other groups, including Muslims and ]African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, as reported by the FBI.[ For instance, hundreds of Jewish gravestones were vandalized in Pennsylvania and Missouri,][ and antisemitic incidents on university campuses doubled in number.][
In August 2017, the widely publicized ]Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
featured Nazi symbols
The 20th-century German Nazi Party made extensive use of graphic symbols, especially the ''Swastika#Use in Nazism, swastika'', notably in the form of the swastika flag, which became the co-national flag of Nazi Germany in 1933, and the sole na ...
, salutes
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
, and the slogan " Blood and Soil",[ amid explicit racist and antisemitic rhetoric. Considerable antisemitic material was being spread online via posted ]conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
about wealthy Jewish individuals, including billionaire George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
. Columbia University's Jon Albright said that these represented the "worst sample" of all the hate speech he had seen on Instagram.[
]
Shooting
At 9:45 AM three religious services were underway in the Tree of Life synagogue, which housed three distinct congregations. Tree of Life and New Light had both begun independent Shabbat morning service in the Pervin Chapel[ and basement, respectively. The Dor Hadash congregants were gathered near the front of the building, prior to their 10:00 a.m. ]Torah study
Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...
session.
At 9:50 AM EDT (13:50 UTC), a man, described as a "bearded heavy-set white male", entered the building, opened fire and was "shooting for about 20 minutes." He was armed with a Colt AR-15
The Colt AR-15 is a lightweight, magazine-fed, gas-operated semi-automatic rifle. It is a semi-automatic version of the M16 rifle sold for the civilian and law enforcement markets in the United States. Colt's Manufacturing Company currently ...
semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
(cited by authorities as an "assault rifle")[ - NOTE: please see extensive discussion about "assault rifles" at => Talk:Pittsburgh synagogue shooting#"AR-15 rifle" considered an "Assault Weapon" - or Not?] and three Glock
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
semi-automatic pistols
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single- chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actu ...
, all four of which he fired, according to authorities. There would typically be around 75 people in the building on a Saturday morning.
The first two persons shot were two brothers, Cecil and David Rosenthal, at the main entrance, after which the shooter headed downstairs to New Light. Some hearing the shots did not initially recognize them for what they were: Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, located upstairs, thought a coat rack had fallen and clattered.
By 9:54 AM, police began receiving multiple calls from people barricaded in the building and reporting the attack.
At 9:55 AM, Melvin Wax, the leader of New Light's services, hid in a pitch-black closet in the basement. He opened the door of the closet, and the shooter immediately shot him. The latter did not notice the other three congregants who remained in the closet. Two other members of New Light (Gottfried and Stein) were fatally shot and killed in the basement kitchen.[ He also killed Jerry Rabinowitz of Dor Hadash, a physician who had gone toward the sound of gunshots to see if anyone had been hurt.][
At 9:57 AM,][ the shooter left the basement and headed upstairs to the larger Tree of Life service. About 13 worshippers had gathered for the Shabbat service in an upstairs chapel. Myers helped four of them evacuate the chapel through a side door, but eight of the worshippers remained behind. The shooter killed seven and wounded one.][
Police sources said he shouted at some point during the attack, "All Jews must die!"]
At 9:59 AM, police arrived at the synagogue. The shooter fired on police from the entryway, while apparently departing, and police returned fire, forcing him to retreat into the building.
A half hour later, tactical teams entered the building and the shooter also fired upon them. When officers wounded him in return fire, he retreated to the third floor and hid in a room. He had wounded two officers and two SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
members, one of them critically.[
At 11:08 AM, the gunman crawled out of the room and surrendered, having been shot multiple times.] As he received medical care in police custody, he allegedly told a SWAT officer that he wanted all Jews to die, and that Jews were committing genocide against his people; this material was included in a criminal complaint filed in Allegheny County.
Victims
Eleven people were killed, including three on the ground level and four in the synagogue's basement. Among the dead were two brothers and a married couple. At least six others were injured, including four Pittsburgh Police
The Pittsburgh Police (PBP), officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in ...
officers. Five people were transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, four requiring surgery, while one was treated and released by the afternoon. Another victim was transported to UPMC Mercy
UPMC Mercy is a main hospital facility of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and is located in the Uptown section of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Duquesne University, and a few blocks from the PPG Paints Aren ...
, while the accused was taken to Allegheny General Hospital Allegheny General Hospital is a large urban hospital located at 320 East North Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the larger Allegheny Health Network.
History
Allegheny General Hospital, also known locally by the acr ...
.
Those killed were:
* Joyce Fienberg, 75
* Richard Gottfried, 65
* Rose Mallinger, 97
* Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
* Cecil, 59 & David Rosenthal, 54
* Bernice, 84 & Sylvan Simon, 86
* Daniel Stein, 71
* Melvin Wax, 88
* Irving Younger, 69
Seven others who were injured in the incident included three other congregants and four Pittsburgh officers (two patrol officers and two SWAT officers; three by ricocheted gunfire and another by glass fragments).[
]
Accused
Robert Gregory Bowers (born September 4, 1972), a resident of Baldwin, Pennsylvania
Baldwin is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States (not to be confused with adjacent Baldwin Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Baldwin Township). Part of the Greater Pittsburgh, Greater Pittsburgh ...
, was arrested as the shooter. Bowers' parents divorced when he was about one year old.[ His father, Randall Bowers, died by suicide in October 1979 at the age of 26 while he was awaiting trial on a rape charge,][ when Bowers was 7 years old.] Bowers' mother married a Florida man when Bowers was a toddler, and he lived with them in Florida until they separated a year after their marriage.[
Upon their return to Pennsylvania, Robert and his mother lived with his mother's parents in ]Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
. His maternal grandparents took responsibility for raising him, because his mother suffered from health problems. Bowers attended Baldwin High School in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District from August 1986 to November 1989. He dropped out of high school before graduation and worked as a trucker. Neighbors described Bowers as "a ghost" and they also said that he rarely interacted with others.[
According to accounts which were given by Bowers' coworkers from 20 years ago, and analysis of his recent ]social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
posts, his conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
became radicalized as white nationalism
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
; at one point Bowers was fascinated by the right-wing radio host Jim Quinn
Jim Quinn (born February 26, 1943) is an American conservative radio talk show host based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, currently hosting ''Quinn in the Morning'' on WYSL in Avon, New York, and WAVL in Apollo, Pennsylvania. Until its cancella ...
. At a later time he became a follower of "aggressive online provocateurs of the right wing's fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
." He was deeply involved in posting comments on social media websites such as Gab and he also promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories
Antisemitic tropes, canards, or myths are " sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since the Middle Ages, such rep ...
on them.
Gab has been described as "extremist friendly" to neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
s, white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
s, and the alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
.[ Bowers registered his Gab profile in January 2018 under the handle "onedingo"; he described his account by the following: "Jews are the children of ]Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
(). The Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
ascome 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
Fourteen Words (also abbreviated 14 or 14/ 88) is a reference to two slogans originated by David Eden Lane, one of nine founding members of the defunct white separatist insurrectionary terrorist organization The Order. The slogans have served ...
" and the Nazi slogan ''Heil Hitler
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...
''. Bowers published posts that supported the white genocide conspiracy theory
The white genocide, white extinction, or white replacement conspiracy theory is a white supremacist conspiracy theory which states that there is a deliberate plot, often blamed on Jews, to promote miscegenation, interracial marriage, mass non- ...
, such as one that said, "Daily Reminder: Diversity means chasing down the last white person". Bowers said that supporters of the QAnon
QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...
conspiracy theory were "deluded" and being tricked.
Bowers was very active on social media, posting his own similar anti-Semitic and racist rants. He often re-posted content by other similarly minded users, such as Patrick Little, who expressed antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white nationalist/supremacist thoughts and denied the Holocaust
Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements:
...
. In addition, he reposted comments in support of the Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
-based alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
fight club Rise Above Movement
The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is a militant alt-right Southern California-based street-fighting group variously described as "a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists", white nationalist, white supremacist, and far-right.Jarvie, Je ...
(RAM), whose members had attended the August 2017 Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
and were later arrested by the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and convicted at trial for violence against counter demonstrators. Bowers also posted comments in support of the "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys
The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right:
*
*
Fascist:
*
*
*
*
*
Men only:
*
*
*
Political violence:
*
*
* It has ...
(led by Gavin McInnes
Gavin Miles McInnes (; born 17 July 1970) is a Canadian writer, podcaster and far-right commentator and founder of the Proud Boys. He is the host of '' Get Off My Lawn with Gavin McInnes'', on the subscription-based streaming media platform C ...
), who were arrested the same month for engaging in a fight with Antifa outside the Metropolitan Republican Club in New York City.
His posts included criticism of US President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
for being a " globalist, not a nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
" and for supposedly being surrounded by and controlled by Jews. Bowers also denounced African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
with racial slurs
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
and images which are related to lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
s, and he also denounced white women who have relationships with black men. He used his online accounts to post conspiracy theories regarding philanthropist George Soros. ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' said that security sources had alleged that Bowers had links to the far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
and neo-Nazis in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
A month before the attack, Bowers posted photos of results of his target practice. He also posted a photo of his three handguns, calling them his "glock family". In the post, he identified the .357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
handguns as Glock 31, Glock 32, and Glock 33.
Bowers coordinated with Brad Griffin (aka Hunter Wallace) of ''Occidental Dissent'', an alt-right associated blogger and member of League of the South
The League of the South (LS) is an American white nationalist, neo-Confederate, white supremacist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic".
The group def ...
on doxxing an unidentified left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
blogger. Bowers wrote "that address is not the most current for him. I can get you the most recent outside of gab". League of the South was one of the organizations that participated in the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville.
In the weeks before the shooting, Bowers made antisemitic posts directed at the HIAS
HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Departme ...
-sponsored[ National Refugee Shabbat] of October 19–20, in which Dor Hadash[ participated. He claimed Jews were aiding members of Central American caravans moving toward the United States border and referred to those migrants as "invaders".][ Shortly before the attack, he 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."] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
, "the mention of 'optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
' references a disagreement that has raged within the white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
movement since the Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in 2017 about how best to get their message across to the general public".
After the shooting, Gab suspended Bowers' profile and pledged to cooperate with the criminal investigation. Shortly after the attack, PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
, Stripe, Joyent
Joyent Inc. was a software and services company based in San Francisco, California. Specializing in cloud computing, it marketed infrastructure-as-a-service.
On June 15, 2016, the company was acquired by Samsung Electronics.
Services
Triton, Joye ...
, and Medium
Medium may refer to:
Science and technology
Aviation
*Medium bomber, a class of war plane
*Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data
* Medium of ...
pulled their support for Gab, and GoDaddy
GoDaddy Inc. is an American publicly traded Internet domain registrar and web hosting company headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and incorporated in Delaware.
, GoDaddy has more than 21 million customers and over 6,600 employees worldwide. The co ...
, under which the Gab domains were registered, required Gab to relocate their domain name hosting to a different service, effectively shutting Gab down in the short term.
Criminal charges and proceedings
Federal criminal proceedings
Bowers was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
with 29 federal crimes.
Bowers appeared in federal court in Pittsburgh on October 29, 2018, and was ordered held without bail pending trial.
On October 31, Bowers was indicted
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...
on 44 counts by a federal grand jury. The charges carry a maximum penalty of death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
or 535 years in federal prison. The counts included hate crimes, 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. On November 1, Bowers entered a plea of not guilty.
On January 29, 2019, the grand jury indicted Bowers on an additional 19 counts, 13 of which were for hate crimes. On February 11, 2019, Bowers was arraigned
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdi ...
in federal court. Bowers is represented by his court-appointed defense attorney, Judy Clarke
Judy Clare Clarke (born 1952) is an American criminal defense attorney who has represented several high-profile defendants such as Ted Kaczynski, Eric Rudolph, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Joseph Edward Duncan, Zacarias Moussaoui, Jared Lee Loughner, Rob ...
. Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.
As of October 2019 a trial date had not yet been set, pending the resolution of various pretrial motions.
By October 2020 Bowers was seeking a plea deal.
In January 2022 he sought a change of venue. In June of that year, U.S. District Judge Robert Colville said he anticipated that Bowers's trial would take place in 2023, most likely between April and June.
State criminal proceedings
Bowers was also charged with 36 state criminal counts, including 11 counts of criminal homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
, six counts of aggravated assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
, six counts of attempted criminal homicide, and 13 counts of ethnic intimidation. The state charges are held in abeyance pending the federal trial.[
]
Reactions
United States
President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf
Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...
, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman
John Karl Fetterman (born August 15, 1969) is an American politician who is the United States senator-elect from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he has also served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2019. Fet ...
, and Pittsburgh City Council
The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city ...
man Corey O'Connor
Corey O'Connor is an American politician serving as the Allegheny County controller in Pennsylvania since Jul 10, 2022. For the 10 years prior to becoming controller, he was a member of the Pittsburgh City Council and represented District 5.
Fa ...
released statements about the incident through Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Trump called the shooting a wicked, antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
act of "pure evil."[ 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".] Trump suggested cases such as this call for the death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.[
Cecilia Wang of the ]American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
said the attack, along with other recent unrest, was inspired by elements of Trump's rhetoric. Vice President Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
denied any such connection in an NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
interview that night. Over 2,000 people, including many from the local Jewish community, protested against Trump's visit to the synagogue site, chanting "words have meaning", and carrying signs with such slogans as "We build bridges not walls".
From October 27 to 31, all US flags
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
on public and military grounds were flown at half-staff
Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...
in memory of the victims.
On the Friday following the shooting, David Shribman
David Shribman is an American journalist and author, with a career spanning many well-known newspapers. He has since turned to teaching.
Shribman won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting. At the time, he served as the Boston Globe's Washin ...
, executive editor of the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
'', ran the opening of the Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
-Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
''kaddish'', often called the Jewish mourner's prayer, as a full-width front-page headline.
In July 2021, the state legislature ended a program that provided grants to organizations considered to be potential terrorist targets. Established in 2019, the program distributed just ten million dollars.
International
The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
in Paris darkened its lights in tribute to the victims of the shooting.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
condemned the "horrifying antisemitic brutality", adding "the whole of Israel grieves with the families of the dead." Israel's education and diaspora affairs minister, Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minist ...
, immediately left for Pittsburgh to visit the synagogue, meet with community members, and participate in the funerals of the victims, and directed the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs "to assess and prepare to assist the Pittsburgh Jewish community, 'including the need for emergency and resilience teams that immediately left Israel for psychological assistance and community rehabilitation.'" Israel's cabinet stood for a moment's silence on October 28 to honor the victims.
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Co ...
David Lau
David Baruch Lau ( he, דוד לאו; born 13 January 1966) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. He was appointed after achieving a majority of the vote on 24 July 2013. He previously served as the Chief Rabbi of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Isra ...
said "any murder of any Jew in any part of the world for being Jewish is unforgivable". He described the location as "a place with a profound Jewish flavor". Many news reports said he refused to refer to the Conservative congregation as a "synagogue" since it is non-Orthodox. Prominent non-Orthodox Israeli religious leaders and scholars rejected his statement.
Tel Aviv Municipality
Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality ( he, עיריית תל אביב-יפו) is the arm of local government responsible for the administration of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality handles such municipal affairs as education, cu ...
lit the city hall building with the colors of the American flag in solidarity with the victims of the Pittsburgh attack. An image of the Israeli flag next to the American flag was projected onto Jerusalem's Western Wall
The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط ...
.
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
denounced the "inhuman act of violence" in his Sunday prayers in St. Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...
on October 28, and led prayers for the dead and wounded, as well as their families. He asked God "to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies".
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif
Mohammad Javad Zarif Khansari ( fa, محمدجواد ظریف خوانساری, Mohammad-Javād Zarīf Khānsāri ; ; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He was the foreign minister of Iran from 2013 until 2021 in th ...
offered his thoughts and prayers
The phrase "thoughts and prayers" is often used by officials and celebrities in the United States as a condolence after a tragic event, such as a deadly natural disaster or mass shooting. The phrase has received criticism for its repeated usag ...
to the victims of the shooting, and said "Extremism and terrorism know no race or religion, and must be condemned in all cases".
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
offered condolences and condemned the attack.
Jan Kickert
Jan Kickert (born 19 September 1964) is the Austrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He was born in Thailand, studied at the University of Vienna and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and served in a variety of diplomatic and inte ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n Permanent Representative to the United Nations
A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...
, said: "The attack ... was an attack on all of us, on what we stand for – religious liberty, human rights. We are committed to the safety and security of Jews wherever they are. I say this with growing up and living with the shame that my forefathers were among the worst perpetrators in Nazi times."
Local
Immediately after the shooting, the campus of Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
was placed on lockdown and all university-sponsored activities were cancelled for the day.[ At the same time residents were advised by police to remain in their homes and stay off the streets.]
An unusually large proportion of the Pittsburgh Jewish community from all denominations participated in local Jewish rituals related to death and mourning. Jewish tradition requires a person to guard a corpse until it is buried. '' Shomrim'' (volunteer guards) took one-hour shifts at the Pittsburgh morgue until the bodies were moved to funeral homes. ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' reported that "most of the volunteers appeared to be Orthodox, but they felt strong solidarity with the liberal communities that were directly affected by the shooting."
Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
attended the joint funeral service for the Rosenthal brothers on Tuesday, October 30, when NFL teams are traditionally off. The brothers, who were intellectually disabled
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
, had a sister who is a former employee of the team.
Media and organizations
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' published an op-ed by Jonathan Greenblatt
Jonathan Greenblatt (born November 21, 1970) is an American entrepreneur, corporate executive, and the sixth National Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Prior to heading the ADL, Greenblatt served in the White House as Special A ...
, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, that urged readers to fight against antisemitism and hate.
A CNN editorial described the shooting as one of three hate-incited acts that took place in the United States in the same week, along with a series of mail bombing attempts and a shooting at a Kroger grocery store in Jeffersontown, Kentucky
Jeffersontown is a home rule-class city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 26,595 at the 2010 U.S. census.
It is a major suburb of Louisville. When the Louisville Metro government was established in 2003, Jefferso ...
.
On October 28, the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
darkened its lights in honor of the victims. According to the building's Twitter account, the top of the spire was left aglow with "an orange halo shining a light on gun violence awareness". In the wake of the shooting, the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
darkened its traditional Victory Lights atop of the Cathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at , the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cath ...
, and on November 2, the university altered the Victory Lights so the blue beam would shine for 11 seconds, one second for each fatality.
Sports
Sports teams that observed a moment of silence for the shooting victims included the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
at their home game against the Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
, the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
at the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
, the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
at the Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
, the Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
at the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
, the Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
and the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
playing in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and the Pittsburgh Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...
hosting Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
at Heinz Field.[ A moment of silence was also observed before Game 4 of the ]World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
at Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...
on the night of October 27.
The Pittsburgh Penguins wore jerseys with a patch that read "Stronger Than Hate" for their game against the New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
on October 30. The team announced that, following the game, the team would auction off the jerseys on behalf of the synagogue. Similarly, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team displayed a "Stronger than Hate" decal on their helmets during the November 2 game visiting the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
.
NFL player Terrell Suggs
Terrell Raymonn Suggs (born October 11, 1982), nicknamed "T-Sizzle", is an American former professional outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona State, and was recognized as a unanimous Al ...
wore a Star of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
on his cleats during a game in October 2019 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the shooting.
Vigils and rallies
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
A candlelight vigil or candlelit vigil is an outdoor assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset in order to show support for a specific cause. Such events are typically held either to protest the suffering of some marginalized group of ...
; it was organized by students from nearby Taylor Allderdice High School
Taylor Allderdice High School is a public high school in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened in 1927 and is part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools district. It was named for industrialist and Squirr ...
. Two additional vigils were held in the neighborhood.
The day after the shooting, an interfaith vigil organized by the regional Jewish Federation
The Jewish Federation (JFED), is generally a secular Jewish non-profit organization, found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, finan ...
was held at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum (or often simply Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall) is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the largest memorial in the United States de ...
, drawing an overflow crowd estimated at 2,500. Attended by numerous national and local dignitaries, the event featured several speakers, including the rabbis of the three congregations that occupied the synagogue building, Islamic and Christian clergy, and civic leaders. Among those in attendance were Bill Peduto
William Mark Peduto (born October 30, 1964) is an American politician who was the 60th mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 2014 until 2022. He was a Democratic member of the Pittsburgh City Council from 2002 to 2014.
Before his election to ...
, mayor of Pittsburgh; Rich Fitzgerald
Rich Fitzgerald (born May 8, 1959) is an American elected official who serves as the 3rd County Executive of Allegheny County. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member oAllegheny County Councilfrom 2000 until 2011 as t ...
, Allegheny County executive; Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representat ...
; Governor Tom Wolf
Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...
; Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minist ...
, Israeli Minister for Education and Minister for Diaspora Affairs; Ron Dermer
Ron Dermer ( he, רון דרמר, born April 16, 1971) is an United States, American-born Israelis, Israeli political consultant and diplomat serving as the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs. He previously served as the Israeli Ambassador to ...
, Israeli ambassador to the United States; and Danny Danon
Danny Danon (Hebrew: דני דנון, born 8 May 1971) served as Israel’s 17th Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and currently serves as Chairman of the World Likud. Danon previously served as a member of the Knesset from the Liku ...
, permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations. A video was streamed during the event featuring Israeli president Reuven Rivlin
Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...
, who offered brief remarks and led the crowd in a recitation of the Kaddish
Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...
.
In the week following the attack, Jewish and interfaith communal vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
s and solidarity rallies were held across the world. In the United States, these were attended by hundreds or thousands of people, in many cities across the nation. In Canada, they were held in Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and other places. In Israel, approximately 500 Americans and Israelis lit candles on the night of October 28 at Zion Square
Zion Square ( he, כיכר ציון, ''Kikar Tziyon'') is a public square in Jerusalem, located at the intersection of Jaffa Road, Ben Yehuda Street, Herbert Samuel Street, and Yoel Moshe Salomon Street.
The square is one of the vertices of ...
in Jerusalem.[ In Europe, Jewish communal vigils were held in London, Liverpool, Brighton, and Paris.
College students at more than one hundred campuses across the country held vigils in the days following the shootings in memory of the victims.]
The American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...
and the Jewish Federations of North America
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 146 Jewish Federations and 300 independent Jewish communities across North America, which rais ...
called for Jews and non-Jews to attend synagogue services on the Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
following the attack, under the hashtag #ShowUpForShabbat. NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
reported thousands of people around the world attended services in local synagogues, community centers, and college campuses, including Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...
. Additionally, many congregations recited the prayer for martyrs Av HaRachamim even though it would normally be omitted that Shabbat.
Presidential visit
On October 30, Trump flew to Pittsburgh on Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...
, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump
Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...
, daughter Ivanka Trump
Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman and the first daughter of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. She was a senior advisor in his administration, and also was the ...
, son-in-law Jared Kushner
Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...
, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. They went to the synagogue, where they met with Tree of Life spiritual leader Jeffrey Myers and Israeli ambassador to the US Ron Dermer
Ron Dermer ( he, רון דרמר, born April 16, 1971) is an United States, American-born Israelis, Israeli political consultant and diplomat serving as the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs. He previously served as the Israeli Ambassador to ...
. Trump lit candles for the victims inside and outside placed stones on each of the 11 Star-of-David markers of the memorial. The group went to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, where Trump spoke with wounded victims, their families, law enforcement officials, and medical staff.
Trump's visit was discouraged by some in the Pittsburgh community. Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto
William Mark Peduto (born October 30, 1964) is an American politician who was the 60th mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 2014 until 2022. He was a Democratic member of the Pittsburgh City Council from 2002 to 2014.
Before his election to ...
said Trump should not have come, as the wounds were raw and the community was just beginning to mourn and hold funerals. Peduto, with agreement from Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald
Rich Fitzgerald (born May 8, 1959) is an American elected official who serves as the 3rd County Executive of Allegheny County. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member oAllegheny County Councilfrom 2000 until 2011 as t ...
, also urged Trump to consider "the wills of the families" of the deceased. More than 70,000 people had signed an open letter written by Bend the Arc: Pittsburgh saying that Trump was not welcome until he "fully denounces white nationalism". Former Tree of Life president Lynette Lederman opposed Trump's visit, saying she felt his words were "hypocritical" and that "We have people who stand by us who believe in values, not just Jewish values, but believe in values, and those are not the values of this president, and I do not welcome him to Pittsburgh".[
Before Trump's visit, Tree of Life rabbi Jeffrey Myers said,
]"There is hate, and it isn't going away. It just seems to be getting worse. ... We've got to stop hate, and it can't just be to say we need to stop hate. We need to do, we need to act to tone down rhetoric," adding that he would welcome a visit from Trump.
Aaron Bisno, the rabbi of Rodef Shalom Congregation
Rodef Shalom Congregation is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed by architect Henry Hornbostel.
Located on Fifth Avenue on the border of the Oakland and Shadyside neighborhoods, it houses Co ...
, said he did not think Trump's presence was beneficial, saying that Trump had become a "symbol of division" for many. During Trump's visit to the synagogue, an estimated 2,000 protesters were cordoned off a few blocks away. Afterward, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said, "The President was very warm, very consoling."
Neo-Nazis and white supremacists
Among American neo-Nazis
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...
and white supremacists
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
, figures such as Andrew Anglin
Andrew Barret Anglin (born July 27, 1984) is an American neo-Nazi and conspiracy theorist, and editor of the website ''The Daily Stormer''. Through this website, Anglin uses elements of Nazism combined with Internet memes originating from 4cha ...
of ''The Daily Stormer
''The Daily Stormer'' is an American far-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, misogynist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and Holocaust denial commentary and message board website that advocates for a second genocide of Jews. It is part of the alt ...
'', Matthew Heimbach
Matthew Warren Heimbach (born April 8, 1991) is an American white supremacist who advocated a neo-Nazi ideology. Heimbach now identifies as a National Bolshevik. Instead of supporting racist policies, Heimbach now claims that he advocates "prol ...
of the now defunct Traditionalist Workers Party, Richard B. Spencer
Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 1978) is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. A former editor, he is a public speaker and activist on behalf of the alt-right movement. He advocates for the r ...
of the National Policy Institute
The National Policy Institute (NPI) is a white supremacist think tank and lobbying group which is based in Alexandria, Virginia. It lobbies for white supremacists and the alt-right. Its president is Richard B. Spencer.
It has been largely ina ...
, Patrick Casey of Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement, Greg Johnson of Counter-Currents Publishing and the messageboard forum Stormfront expressed the fear that the backlash over the attack could derail their efforts to gain mainstream political acceptance.
4chan
4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime and manga to video games, cooking, weapons, television, ...
users on the /pol/
/pol/, short for "Politically Incorrect", is an anonymous political discussion imageboard on 4chan. As of 2022, it is the most active board on the site. It has had a substantial impact on Internet culture while acting as a platform for far-r ...
board viewed the attack as "accidentally redpill
The terms "red pill" and "blue pill" refer to a choice between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in contented ignorance with the blue pill. The terms are associated with ...
ing" people and denied
Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...
that it had occurred. They claimed the purported attack was a "false flag" committed by Jews to gain sympathy. Some users praised the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and created the hashtag #HeroRobertBowers to express support for the shooter on Gab. A multiple-choice poll was posted asking for the best option for Jewish people in the West: 35% of respondents chose "Genocide". In another poll, the question "Do you support the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, Robert Bowers?" was posted; nearly 25% of respondents said yes, and some added inflammatory remarks.
Fundraising efforts
Numerous fundraising efforts were launched in order to assist the survivors of the shooting, pay for the burial of the victims, and pay for the repairs to the synagogue.[ As of November 1, a ]GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...
campaign which was initiated by an Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian graduate student in Washington, D.C., had exceeded US$1 million in donations, and a new goal of US$1.2 million has also been surpassed. Muslim groups opened a LaunchGood crowdfunding campaign to help pay for the burial of the victims and survivors' medical bills, with the funds to be distributed by the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh
The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh is an Islamic educational, social services, and community outreach organization in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1989, it is the largest mosque in the city, attracting 600 to 700 p ...
. As of November 1, that campaign had exceeded its goal of $150,000 with more than $225,000 in contributions.[
The organizers of the campaign announced that all excess funds would be "spent on projects that help foster Muslim-Jewish collaboration, dialogue, and solidarity". The ]Jewish Federation
The Jewish Federation (JFED), is generally a secular Jewish non-profit organization, found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, finan ...
of Greater Pittsburgh raised $3.65 million for victims by November 13; donations to that organization were to be matched by the United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Foundation.[ Fundraising campaigns for shooting victims in the Dor Hadash and New Light congregations raised nearly $23,000 combined.
A $6.3 million fund was raised for the survivors of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the families of the 11 dead, and police officers.
]
Documentary
In 2022, '' A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting'' documentary was released by HBO Documentary Films.
See also
* Antisemitic canard
Antisemitic tropes, canards, or myths are " sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since the Middle Ages, such repo ...
* Antisemitism in the United States
Antisemitism in the United States has existed for centuries. In the United States, most Jewish community relations agencies draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status ...
* Antisemitism in the United States in the 21st-century
In 2018 and 2019, reports of antisemitism in the United States was reported to have increased compared to previous years according to statistics collected by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Anti-Defamation League. These statistics ...
* Geography of antisemitism#United States
* History of antisemitism in the United States
There have been different opinions among historians with regard to the extent of antisemitism in America's past and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. Earlier students of American Jewish life minimized the pres ...
* List of attacks on Jewish institutions in the United States
This is a list of violent attacks and failed attack plots targeting Jewish institutions in the United States.
* 1957 – November 11: A bomb at Temple Beth-El in Birmingham, Alabama was discovered before it exploded.Kellman, George. "ANTI-JEWISH ...
* List of conspiracy theories#Antisemitism
* List of right-wing terrorist attacks
This is a list of right-wing terrorist attacks. Right-wing terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies, most prominently by neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, white nationalism, white ...
* List of synagogue shootings
* Radical right (United States)
In United States politics, the radical right is a political preference that leans towards extreme conservatism, white supremacism, or other right-wing to far-right ideologies in a hierarchical structure paired with conspiratorial rhetoric along ...
* Right-wing terrorism#United States
* Terrorism in the United States
In the United States, a common definition of terrorism is the systematic or threatened use of violence in order to create a general climate of fear to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideolog ...
* Domestic terrorism in the United States
Domestic terrorism in the United States consists of incidents which are confirmed to be domestic terrorist acts. These attacks are considered domestic because they occurred within the United States and they were carried out by U.S. citizens and ...
* Timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States
This is a timeline of terrorist attacks in the United States throughout history.
Attacks by date 1776–99
1800–99
1900–59
1960–69
1970–79
1980–89
1990–99
2000–09
2010–19
2020–present
References
{{reflist
...
;Pittsburgh
* History of the Jews in Pittsburgh
The history of the Jews in Pittsburgh dates back to the mid-19th century. In 2002, Jewish households represented 3.8% of households in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. As of 2017, there were an estimated 50,000 Jews in the Greater Pittsburgh area ...
* Murder of Neal Rosenblum
* 2009 shooting of Pittsburgh police officers
;Other antisemitic attacks
* Atlanta Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing (1958)
* Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting
On August 10, 1999, at around 10:50 a.m. PT, American white supremacist Buford O. Furrow Jr. walked into the lobby of the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills and opened fire with an Uzi
sub machine gun, firing 70 bulle ...
(1999)
* Seattle Jewish Federation shooting
The Seattle Jewish Federation shooting occurred in Seattle on July 28, 2006, at around 4:00 p.m. PT, when Naveed Afzal Haq shot six women, one fatally, at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building.
After his first trial ended in a ...
(2006)
* United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting
At approximately 12:50 p.m. on June 10, 2009, 88-year-old James Wenneker von Brunn entered the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. with a slide-action rifle and fatally shot Museum Special Police Officer Stephen Tyr ...
(2009)
* Poway synagogue shooting
The Poway synagogue shooting occurred on April 27, 2019, at Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, United States, a city approximately north of San Diego, on the last day of the Jewish Passover holiday, which fell on a Shabbat. Armed ...
(2019)
* Halle synagogue shooting (2019)
* 2019 Jersey City shooting
On December 10, 2019, a shooting took place at a kosher grocery store in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey. Five people were killed at the store, including the two assailants, David N. Anderson and Francine Graham. Additionally ...
* Monsey Hanukkah stabbing
On the night of December 28, 2019, the seventh night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, a masked man wielding a large knife or machete invaded the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey, Rockland County, New York, where a Hanukkah party was underw ...
(2019)
* Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis
On January 15, 2022, Malik Akram, a 44-year-old British Pakistani armed with a pistol, took four people hostage in the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, United States, during a Sabbath service. Hostage negotiations ensue ...
(2022)
Notes
References
External links
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation official website
New Light Congregation official website
Official Gab account of the accused
second archive
A YouTube video featuring the feed of the accused's account with a police scanner
Vigil for Pittsburgh shooting victims
{{Portal bar, Judaism
2018 in Judaism
2018 in Pennsylvania
2018 mass shootings in the United States
2010s in Pittsburgh
21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations in the United States
Alt-right terrorism
Antisemitism in Pennsylvania
Crimes in Pittsburgh
Deaths by firearm in Pennsylvania
Hate crimes
Jews and Judaism in Pittsburgh
Mass shootings in Pennsylvania
Massacres in religious buildings and structures
Massacres in the United States
Neo-fascist terrorist incidents in the United States
Neo-Nazism in the United States
October 2018 crimes in the United States
Terrorist incidents in Pennsylvania
Terrorist incidents in the United States in 2018
Trump administration controversies
White genocide conspiracy theory
White nationalism in Pennsylvania
Mass shootings in the United States