A suspect in the synagogue faces allegations of hate crimes. His family calls his state of mind a "terrifying mystery"

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As authorities examine what led to Saturday's shootout – including a threat manifesto posted online under the defendant's name shortly before the attack -, defendant John Earnest is expected to be brought to trial Tuesday after noon in the Superior Court of San Diego County.

Earnest, 19, is charged with one murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting that claimed the lives of one woman and three other injured people.

Earnest, a student at the California State University in San Marcos, reportedly opened fire with a rifle in the Poway synagogue, north of San Diego, police said at a news conference. meet on the last day of Pesach – h.

According to the authorities, Earnest killed Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, and injured three other people – Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein; Noya Dahan, 8 years old; and Noya's uncle, Almog Peretz, 34 – before leaving and being arrested.

She was at the synagogue to mourn her mother. She was killed protecting the rabbi

All charges of murder and attempted murder are accompanied by allegations of hate crime and firearms that may result in heavier sentences in the event of a conviction.

As part of the murder charge, Earnest is accused of intentionally killing Kaye because of his religion – a particular circumstance that, in California, could result in capital punishment.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued a moratorium on executions in March. Although the order prevents them from occurring at the moment, it does not prevent capital punishment from being pronounced.

Earnest is also accused of arson in a house of worship, according to a criminal complaint.

Charging documents indicate that the arson charge concerns a fire at a place of worship on or about March 23rd. The document does not contain any details, but authorities have indicated that they were trying to determine if Earnest would be involved in a fire at the end of March in a mosque. Nearby Escondido.

A person using the name of the suspect posted a letter citing a New Zealand attack as a source of inspiration

The police did not comment on any motive. But 73 minutes before the Poway attack, a person identifying as John Earnest posted a link to an open letter containing hyperlinked hate speech on 8chan, an anonymous message board that often featured hate speech and extremist messages.

Attack on New Zealand mosques seems to have inspired a suspect in the California synagogue
The letter is filled with an anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiment. The author discusses the planning of the attack and repeatedly quotes the deadly shooting last month at the mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, claiming that the attack "was a catalyst" and "inspired" him. .
The letter also mentions that Robert Bowers, the defendant of the deadly shootings at the Tree of Life synagogue last year in Pittsburgh, was a source of direct inspiration.

Informants warned the FBI of the letter just minutes before the attack, said one official

Minutes before the shooting, informants alerted the FBI of the letter, an FBI official said.
FBI officials learned of the existence of a threatening forum after the synagogue attack 5 minutes before

The FBI official said his website and his phone line had been reported five times about five minutes before the shot, which, according to the police, would have started at 11:23 pm Pacific time .

The FBI did not determine the author of the 8chan station nor the location of the attack planned before the shooting.

On his Twitter account, 8chan claims to have removed the message nine minutes after its publication. 8chan's representatives did not respond to CNN's investigation to find out if they had alerted law enforcement officials to the post.

The letter mentioned the killing of Jews but did not mention Poway

Although the letter talks about killing Jews, it does not refer to Poway, San Diego or the Chabad of Poway synagogue.

The open letter is structured in a question-and-answer format in which the person who identifies as Earnest answers general questions about his character, political affiliation, and motivation to commit an attack.

In 8chan's post, the person who identifies as Earnest declares that she "only hides" on the site for a year and a half, before connecting to a Facebook page saying "a live stream will begin shortly ". The attack in New Zealand was broadcast live on Facebook.

This time, no live video was found on the Facebook page linked to the 8chan message, according to the archived web pages.

A woman attends a candlelight vigil at Poway.

The defendant's family: his attraction to such darkness is a terrifying mystery& # 39;

Earnest's family said in a statement on Monday that she was "shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible attack".
A member of the family of the California synagogue suspects shots: "We are shocked and deeply saddened by the terrible attack".

"But our sadness is derisory compared to the sorrow and anguish that our son has caused to so many innocent people," the statement said. "He killed and wounded the faithful gathered in a sacred place on a holy day."

"To our great shame, it is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated for centuries on the Jewish people," the statement said.

The statement also stated that Earnest's shares "have been informed by people we do not know and ideas that we do not hold".

"The way our son was attracted by such darkness is a terrifying mystery for us," the statement said.

Participants hold candles during a vigil Sunday evening.
CSUSM President Karen S. Haynes told CNN's affiliate, KGTV, in a statement to the university community, that Earnest was a student on the San Diego County campus, north of country, and that he was on the dean's list.

"We are upset by this tragedy, motivated by hatred and anti-Semitism," reads the statement. "This despicable act runs counter to our values ​​as a University, especially as many members of our community prepare to observe Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on the 1st. May We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and reject the discourse of division nurtures hatred. "

CNN's Joe Sterling, Darran Simon, Artemis Moshtaghian, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Paul Murphy, Cheri Mossburg and Amir Vera contributed to this report.

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