Suspect in custody after deadly shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue

UPDATE: Federal prosecutors Saturday night filed 29 charges, including hate crimes and using a firearm to commit murder, against the suspected gunman in a shooting that killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday morning. A news conference was scheduled for Sunday to discuss the charges.

The suspect, Robert Bowers, traded gunfire with police and was shot several times during the 20-minute attack at the Tree of Life Congregation. Bowers is in fair condition at a hospital.

Thousands, including Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, gathered for a vigil Saturday night in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, where the synagogue is located. Participants prayed and sang in memory of those killed and wounded and chanted, “Vote, vote, vote,” as some criticized the nation’s political climate. President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday night he would visit Pittsburgh but didn’t offer any details. The president told attendees Saturday night at a political rally in Murphysboro, Ill., “This was an anti-Semitic attack at its worst.” Trump said it must be “confronted and condemned everywhere it rears it very ugly head.”

UPDATE (5:20 p.m.): Eleven people were killed and at least six wounded, including four police officers, in a shooting Saturday morning at a Pittsburgh synagogue. FBI special agent Bob Jones said it was “the most horrific crime scene” he had witnessed in his 22 years with the bureau. He added that the suspect, identified as Robert Bowers, was not known to law enforcement and authorities believe he acted alone. The shooter’s motive still is unknown.

Gab.com confirmed the suspect had a profile on its social media site, which is popular with far-right extremists. A man with the same name as the suspect posted on the site before the shooting 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.” HIAS is a nonprofit organization based in Silver Spring, Md., that assists refugees living in dangerous areas around the world and, according to its website, is guided by its “Jewish values and history.”

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said federal hate crimes charges will be filed against the suspect, which he said “could lead to the death penalty.”

OUR EARLIER REPORT (2:12 p.m.): Authorities say a gunman opened fire Saturday morning during a baby naming ceremony at a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing an unknown number of people and wounding six others, including four police officers who had rushed to the scene. Police said the suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as Robert Bowers, a man in his 40s, is in custody after the attack at the Tree of Life Congregation in the Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. “It is a very horrific crime scene,” said Wendell Hissrich, the city’s public safety director. “It was one of the worst that I’ve seen. It is very bad.”

Hissrich said the FBI would lead the investigation into the shooting, which is being considered a possible federal hate crime. According to several media reports, the gunman shouted anti-Semitic statements during the attack.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, called the shooting an “absolute tragedy” in a statement that made reference to calls for tighter gun control laws. President Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, “It’s a terrible thing what’s going on with hate in our country,” but added that the outcome might have been different if the synagogue “had some kind of protection” from an armed guard.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying, “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. And we all pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”