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The man accused in the Pittsburgh synagogue mbadacre has appeared briefly in federal court in a wheelchair and handcuffs to face charges that he killed 11 people in what is believed to be the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.
Robert Gregory Bowers, who was shot and wounded in a gun battle with police, was released from hospital on Monday morning and turned over to federal authorities.
A few hours later, he was wheeled into the courtroom, where he was held without bail for a preliminary hearing on Thursday when prosecutors will outline their case against him.
During the court appearance, Bowers talked with two court-appointed lawyers, went over documents and confirmed his identity to a judge, saying little more than “Yes” a few times.
Courtroom deputies freed one of his hands from cuffs so he could sign paperwork.
Federal prosecutors set in motion plans to seek the death penalty against the 46-year-old lorry driver, who authorities say expressed hatred of Jews during the rampage.
He later allegedly told police “I just want to kill Jews” and “all these Jews need to die”.
The first funeral – for Cecil Rosenthal and his younger brother David – was set for Tuesday.
Survivors offered harrowing accounts of the mbad shooting inside the Tree of Life Synagogue.
Barry Werber, 76, said he found himself hiding in a dark storage closet as the gunman tore through the building.
“I don’t know why he thinks the Jews are responsible for all the ills in the world but he’s not the first and he won’t be the last,” Mr Werber said.
“Unfortunately, that’s our burden to bear. It breaks my heart.”
The weekend mbadacre – 10 days before mid-term elections – heightened tensions around the country, coming a day after the arrest of the Florida man accused of sending a wave of pipe bombs to critics of President Donald Trump.
The mail bomb attacks and the bloodshed in Pittsburgh set off debate over whether the corrosive political climate in Washington and beyond contributed to the violence and whether Mr Trump bears any blame because of his combative language.
Mr Werber noted the president has embraced the politically fraught label of “nationalist”. He said the Nazis were nationalists.
“It’s part of his programme to instigate his base,” Mr Werber said, adding: “Bigots are coming out of the woodwork.”
Bowers killed eight men and three women before a police tactical team shot him, authorities said.
Six other people were wounded, including four officers. Four of the wounded remained in hospital on Sunday night, two in critical condition.
He was charged in a 29-count federal criminal complaint that included counts of obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death – a hate crime – and using a gun to commit murder.
Bowers was also charged under state law with criminal homicide, aggravated badault and ethnic intimidation.
Minutes before the synagogue attack, Bowers apparently took to social media to rage against HIAS, a Jewish organisation that resettles refugees under contract with the US Government.
“HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” he is believed to have written on Gab.com, a social media site favoured by right-wing extremists.
“I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”
Three congregations were conducting Sabbath services in the synagogue when the attack began just before 10am in the tree-lined residential neighbourhood of Squirrel Hill, the historic hub of the city’s Jewish community.
Speaking at a vigil in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, Tree of Life rabbi Jeffrey Myers said about a dozen people had gathered in the main sanctuary when Bowers walked in and began shooting. Seven of his congregants were killed, he said.
“My holy place has been defiled,” he added.
In the basement, four members of New Light congregation were just starting to pray – with two others in the kitchen – when they heard crashing upstairs, looked out of the door and saw a body on the staircase, Mr Werber recalled in an interview.
Rabbi Jonathan Perlman closed the door and pushed them into a large supply closet, he said.
There were three shots, and he falls back into the room where we were
Barry Werber
As gunshots echoed upstairs, Mr Werber called 911 but was afraid to say anything for fear of making any noise.
When the shots subsided, he said another congregant, Melvin Wax, opened the door, only to be shot.
“There were three shots, and he falls back into the room where we were,” Mr Werber said. “The gunman walks in.”
Apparently unable to see Mr Werber and the other congregants in the darkness, Bowers walked back out.
Mr Werber called the gunman “a maniac” and “a person who has no control of his baser instincts”.
The youngest of the 11 dead was 54, the oldest 97. The toll included a husband and wife, professors, dentists and physicians.
Bowers shot his victims with an AR-15, used in many of the nation’s mbad shootings, and three handguns, all of which he owned legally and had a licence to carry, according to a law enforcement official.
Bowers was a long-haul lorry driver who worked for himself, US Attorney Scott Brady said.
Little else was known about Bowers, who had no apparent criminal record.
Press Association
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