2LT International News

PITTSBURGH, U.S. – In a shocking case of mass shooting that is being investigated as a federal hate crime, a gunman stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, yelled out ‘All Jews must die’ before opening fire. 

The gunman reportedly managed to shoot worshipers, killing at least eleven people and leaving six others injured.

Federal law enforcement officials have said that amongst those injured were four police officers, who were entering the building when they were attacked. 

The Pennsylvanian Attorney General Josh Shapiro later said that the assailant stormed the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh and opened fire during a baby naming ceremony before being nabbed by the police. 

However, so far, there is no clarity on whether the baby was harmed during the shooting.

A police spokesman told the local media that officers were “still trying to clear the building and figure out if any more threats exist.”

What is known so far?

Following the incident, a report in the local television station KDKA quoted police sources as saying that a “bearded heavy-set white male” in his 40s was taken into custody.

Sources further confirmed that the gunman walked into the building and yelled “All Jews must die.”

A short while later, sources quoted in an MSNBC report said that the attacker was armed with AR-15 rifle and two handguns.

In a brief statement, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said that it was treating multiple patients at UPMC Presbyterian.

Addressing a brief news conference near the scene, Pittsburgh public safety director Wendell Hissrich said, “It’s a very horrific crime scene, one of the worst that I’ve seen, and I’ve been on some plane crashes. This falls under hate crime.”

He added that there was no active threat to the community and that the shooter had been taken to a hospital. 

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania governor, Tom Wolf, who reached the scene of the shooting told reporters, “This is an absolute tragedy. These senseless acts of violence are not who we are as Americans. My thoughts right now are focused on the victims, their families and making sure law enforcement has every resource they need.” 

Later, both the CNN and MSNBC identified the suspect as 46-year-old Pittsburgh man Robert Bowers. 

A social media post by a user with the same name was quoted in the reports, in which the user said that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society “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.”

However, so far, officials have not named the suspect.

The case in being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

‘Hate crime’

Following the mass shooting, the U.S. President Trump spoke to reporters at Joint Base Andrews and condemned the shooting as an act of “hate.”

Trump praised the actions of law enforcement for doing “an outstanding job,” but called for strengthening of U.S. laws surrounding death penalty.

Answering a media question on gun control, the U.S. President suggested that an armed guard inside the synagogue would have been able to stop the suspect. 

Trump added that such shooters should receive the death penalty and “suffer the ultimate price.”

The shooting was also condemned by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who issued a video statement on Twitter following the incident. 

Netanyahu said in his message, “We stand together with the Jewish community of Pittsburgh. We stand together with the American people in the face of this horrendous anti-Semitic brutality.” 

He tweeted, “I was heartbroken and appalled by the murderous attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue today.”

The Jewish civil rights group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said in a report earlier this year that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. rose 57 percent in 2017.

The shooting incident came merely day after a spate of pipe bombs were discovered after being mailed to prominent political figures, mostly Democrats and critics of the U.S. President, including Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.