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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein entered Saturday in the banquet hall of Chabad of Poway when he heard a loud noise. He thought that a table had been knocked down or that one of his faithful had fallen.
"I did not know what it was," he said. But when he returned, he immediately discovered.
"I was face to face with this murderous terrorist who was holding the rifle and was looking straight at me," he said.
The shooter did not say anything.
"As soon as he saw me, he started shooting at me and that's when I raised my hand," said Rabbi Goldstein.
In an interview given to Sunday's "Today's" broadcast, Rabbi Goldstein recounted the poignant moments of the shooter's entry into the Poway, California, synagogue. and opened fire with an A.R.-style pistol.
"My fingers have been swept away," said Rabbi Goldstein. "I can not erase that face from my mind."
The shooting at Chabad of Poway is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on places of worship, including a Mass fire in a mosque in New Zealand in March was broadcast live on Facebook, and deadly bombings in churches in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday killed more than 300 people.
The attack on Chabad of Poway took place six months after the day after one of the deadliest attacks on the American Jewish community, leaving 11 people dead in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Saturday's attack left a 60-year-old woman dead, a wounded rabbi, a 34-year-old man and a girl injured by splinters.
The shooting took place while there were 40 to 60 people at the synagogue and on Saturday, Sabbath and the last day of Passover, a feast that celebrates Jewish freedom.
Rabbi Goldstein and the wounded had to recover, but he said that he would be scarred for life.
"I can not erase the moment, and it will be integrated forever," he said.
After the gunman, identified by officials like John T. Earnest, 19, shot Rabbi Goldstein in his hand, he shot and killed a woman whom the rabbi had known for 33 years and helped synagogue.
Rabbi Goldstein said that he immediately went into action.
"I turned around and saw a group of children in the banquet hall, including my granddaughter, and I rushed, not even knowing that my fingers had been torn off and that all of their children had been wound up together and took everyone out of the shelter to make him safe, "he said.
While they were awaiting the arrival of the authorities, Rabbi Goldstein continued the sermon that he had started inside the synagogue.
"I got up and I just spoke with my heart," said the rabbi. "Giving everyone the courage to know it, it was just 70 years ago, during the Holocaust, where we were slaughtered in this way, and I just want to let everyone know. my American compatriots that we will not let him arrive. "
Authorities have called the shooting a hate crime. The gunman was charged Sunday morning with a first degree murder leader and three counts of attempted murder. No deposit has been fixed.
"I am so sorry and saddened by this senseless killing," said Rabbi Goldstein. "Everyone must be a hero and everyone must intervene and do something about terror," he said.
He added, "I guarantee you that we will not be intimidated or deterred by terror. Terror will not win. "
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