Gene J. Puskar,AP
Authorities Name 11 Victims of Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting
Pittsburgh shooting victims ranged in age from 54 to 97 and included brothers and a husband and wife. The perpetrator, Robert Bowers, will be brought in front of a federal judge Monday and charged with 29 federal counts, some punishable by death
All 11 victims of Pittsburgh synagogue have been identified and taken to the city's medical examiner's office, officials said in a press conference Sunday
The synagogue shooting victims inlcluded eight men and three women and ranged in age from 54 to 97 and included brothers and a husband and wife
Eleven people were killed after a man opened fire on a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday
The victims are: Joyce Feinberg, 75 Rich Gotfried, 65 Rose Malinger, 97 Jerry Rabinowitz, 66 Cecil Rosenthal, 59 David Rosenthal, 54 (brothers) Bernice Simon, 84 Sylvan Simon, 86 (a married couple) Daniel Stein, 71 Melvin Wax, 88 Irving Youngner, 69
The perpetrator entered the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue and yelled 'All Jews must die,' according to KDKA, a local radio station
The crime is being treated officially as a hate crime, U.S. attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania said Sunday
The shooting is estimated to have lasted about 20 minutes, Robert Jones, FBI Special Agent said. There is no indications that the perpetrator had any accomplices, Robert Jones, FBI Special Agent in Charge said at the press conference
Officials said it was unclear why the shooter chose the Tree of Life Synagogue. Victims were found in three different areas of the synagogue
Twenty-nine charges were filed against the suspected gunman, including using a firearm to commit murders and murder for exercising religious beliefs, which is punishable by death. Scott W. Brady, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced the charges late Saturday
Robert Bowers, a 46-year-old white male who expressed far-right and white supremacist views on his social media accounts, was arrested over the attack and was reportedly hospitalized in fair condition with gunshot wounds. Eyewitness reports said he was heavily armed
Bowers will make initial appearance in front of federal judge Monday
Two hours before the attack, an account on the social network Gab under Bowers' name posted an attack on HIAS, a Jewish-American organization that helps refugees in the U.S. and around the world.
Bowers wrote: “HIAS likes to bring invaders that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in”
Pittsburgh's Tree of Life congregation, affiliated with the Conservative movement, is a historic one, dating back to 1864
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