A suspected suspect by gunfire, after the massacre, declared that he "wanted all Jews to die"

PITTSBURGH – After entering the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue and firing at 11 worshipers, authorities said Robert Bowers had returned his weapons to the police. Barricading himself to a higher floor, Mr. Bowers participated in a desperate shootout that injured him, along with four police officers.

When the police finally stopped him and his injuries were treated, Mr. Bowers told an officer of the SWAT team that he "wanted all Jews to die," according to a complaint. in the case because he was convinced that the Jews were "committing genocide against his people. "

An image began to appear on Sunday regarding Mr Bowers, accused of 29 charges by the federal government, including for obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs – a hate crime that could lead to the death penalty. He is also facing charges from the state.

Saturday's massacre of the synagogue – the worst of the Jewish community in the United States for decades – shook the country at the end of a grueling and bitter political season. Here in Pittsburgh, it broke the heart, but not the spirit, of a vibrant Jewish community – the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, where residents grieved Sunday for the victims.

"It's more than terrible," said 81-year-old Carl Solomon, who was traveling to the New Light congregation on Saturday to see a police officer armed with a rifle pull out a car. Three congregations – Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light – all had services in the building at the time of the shooting.

Mayor Bill Peduto called the attack "the darkest day in the history of Pittsburgh" but promised that the city would go ahead. "We know that our society is better than that," he said. "We know that hate will never win, that those who will try to divide us because of our way of praying or where our families around the world are will lose."

Among the dead are eight men and three women, authorities said. The oldest victim, Rose Mallinger, of Squirrel Hill, was 97 years old. Two brothers, David and Cecil Rosenthal, aged 54 and 59, were the youngest. Bernice and Sylvan Simon, age 84 and age 86 from Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, were also among the victims.

All were beloved members of the community. Rabbi Donni Aaron, who has held musical services at Dor Hadash for years, described Cecil Rosenthal as a tall, kind man who had a developmental disability and who was well known in Squirrel Hill for his sunny character. She stated that he had attended art classes for children at the Jewish Community Center.

"He was murdered because he was Jewish," she said. "He was murdered because he was a big target, and maybe because when everyone hits the bridge, he may not have it right now."

For Mr. Bowers, anti-Semitism seemed deeply rooted: before its removal on Saturday morning, a social media account suspected of belonging to it was filled with anti-Jewish insults and references to anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. Jewish.

The alleged gun official had registered 21 firearms, officials said, including an AR-15 assault rifle and three Glock handguns, which he brought to the synagogue on Saturday. . He had no criminal record, according to the authorities, and seems to have acted alone.

He lived a 30-minute drive south of Squirrel Hill in the hilly-middle-class neighborhood of Baldwin Borough in the Pittsburgh metropolis. The police raided his apartment on Saturday, but on Sunday morning there was no sign of the police or F.B.I. activity.

A neighbor, Kerri Owens, 30, said to be described as a truck driver.

The massacre moved the world. Pope Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh Sunday on St. Peter's Square, denouncing "the act of inhuman violence" and praying for the cessation of the "flames of hatred" that fueled it. President Trump ordered the flags to fly at half mast after his return from Illinois to Washington on Saturday night.

Addressing reporters at the Andrews Common Base on Saturday, Mr. Trump said, "It's a terrible thing, what's happening with hatred in our country and frankly around the world, and we have to do whatever thing."

"The results are very devastating," he said, adding that if the synagogue "had some kind of protection," it could have been a very different situation.

Solomon, who turned his back on Shul at New Light, described the congregation as "egalitarian conservative."

It was founded in another part of the city at the turn of the 20th century by Romanian Jews fleeing oppression in Europe. In 1957, the synagogue moved to Squirrel Hill; he had just moved in with the two other congregations that met separately at Tree of Life.

The New Light congregation has gathered downstairs in what is officially called the New Light Chapel, a basement area used by its members as a sanctuary. On a typical Shabbat, about 20 people would show up to worship, said Mr. Solomon, and many of them would arrive late.

On Saturday morning, Mr. Solomon said, repeating what the survivors of the shooting had told him, only six had arrived by the time services were due to begin.

Two of them, Richard Gottfried, 65, and Daniel Stein, 71, were in the kitchen near the scene of the shooting. Both were killed.

"There is no place to hide in the kitchen," said Stehen Cohen, 69, co-chair of the congregation.

Three people – Dr. Gottfried's sister Melvin Wax and Rabbi Jonathan Perlman of the New Light congregation – were in the chapel when they heard gunshots, said Solomon. They quickly took refuge in what he called "a storage room" behind the sanctuary. There they hid, with the lights off. He became silent again.

"Basically, everyone is frozen, with the exception of Rabbi Perlman," Cohen said. "He brought everyone in the back."

They stayed in the storage area, waiting. The noise has calmed down. But Mr. Wax, 88, chose to go out, said Mr. Solomon, possible because he was hard of hearing.

"For whatever reason, Mr. Wax opened the door and was shot," said Mr. Cohen. He fell back into the arms of another man. They waited like that until the police arrived. Mr. Wax was killed, but the two people who remained in the storage area survived.

"It was not very long," he said. "All of this went relatively quickly."

Witnesses in the neighborhood said that the attack had proceeded without warning.

Jim Waite, who lives in front of the synagogue, said he heard a series of loud noises and went out to investigate. At that moment, a police car was shouted and Mr. Waite saw another policeman unsheath his gun.

Then he heard the sounds of chaos: eight or nine other loud noises and cries coming from the synagogue. He rushed into his house, joined by a jog and his daughter, and all squatted, wondering what was going on.

"It was really like a surreal moment," Waite said in an interview Sunday morning. "I obviously immediately felt that kind of heartbreaking panic and she's not gone yet."

From the windows of his house, he saw two police snipers who were walking in his front yard and crouching behind a tree, pointing their weapons at the synagogue and people running in the street. street.

"For a long time, I did not look out the window. I was scared, "Waite said.

The police who rushed to the scene fell on Mr. Bowers while he was trying to leave the synagogue. He shot at them, wounding a policeman in the hand, according to the criminal complaint. Another officer was wounded in the face by shrapnel and broken glass. Mr. Bowers then went back inside and ran up to the third floor.

At that time, a SWAT team entered and arrived at the scene of the massacre. Two people were still alive and the police carried them out. While they were looking for other victims, SWAT agents met with Mr. Bowers, who shot and seriously injured two of them.

The remaining officers "engaged the suspect in a shootout in which several shots were fired," the criminal complaint said. During the shooting, Mr. Bowers was injured and eventually surrendered to the police.

Bowers remained under surveillance at the hospital Sunday morning after being operated on, authorities said. He was scheduled to appear for the first time in front of a federal judge Monday at 1:30 pm.

[Ensavoirplussur[Readmoreabout[Ensavoirplussur[Readmoreaboutthe shooting suspect, who has frequently republished antisemitic content on social media.]