The names of the victims of the shooting at the Pittsburgh Synagogue will be revealed

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – The names of people shot dead by an armed man shouting "All Jews Must Die" will be released Sunday after the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States, officials said.

The gunman stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, killing 11 worshipers and wounding six others, including four police officers, before his arrest.

The Mayor of Pittsburg, Bill Peduto, told CBS TV channel KDKA that when the list of dead people would be unveiled by the federal authorities at a press conference at 9 am on Sunday, it would "tear you apart." heart ", saying that he personally knew some of the victims.

The Tree of Life synagogue, located in the Squirrel Hill district, a very Jewish neighborhood, organized a Shabbat religious service at the time of the shooting.

The mass shootings triggered security alerts in the country's places of worship and were condemned by politicians and religious leaders.

It follows a series of discovery bomb pipes posted in recent days to prominent political figures, mostly Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, ahead of the November 6 legislative elections.

"May the Lord help us to extinguish the hotbeds of hatred that animate our societies, reinforcing the sense of humanity, respect for life, moral and civic values, and the holy fear of God, which is the love and father of all, Pope Francis told the pilgrims of St. Peter's Square after a mass.

The US Attorney's Office said it would make public the complaint of indictment and an official affidavit, which could explain why Robert Bowers, 46, of Pittsburgh, would have shot down the faithful.

"I GO IN"

Bowers had published numerous antisemitic articles online, including a Saturday morning. In another case, he criticized US President Donald Trump for doing nothing to prevent an "infestation" of the United States by Jews.

On Saturday morning, a Bowers article on social media said that a Jewish refugee organization, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, "likes to bring in invaders to kill our people." I can not stand by and watch my People get screwed, see you, I'm going. "

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters who were traveling with him Sunday in Prague that the shooter who stormed the synagogue was a coward and the "poorest excuse for a man you could ever find".

The Israeli cabinet rose on Sunday to pay tribute to the victims.

"It is hard to exaggerate the horror of the killing of Jews who gather on the Sabbath and who were murdered only because they were Jews," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added. the world to unite in the fight against anti-Semitism.

Bowers was arrested after a shootout with a SWAT team. Federal prosecutors charged him with 29 counts of indictment, including violence and firearms, and violation of US civil rights legislation.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty.

The Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs have called the attack the deadliest attack in US history, and Netanyahu called it the "greatest anti-Semitic crime" in the history of the United States. United States.

RIFLE OF ASSAULT

The FBI's special agent, Bob Jones, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is conducting the investigation, said the crime scene was the worst it's seen since. 22 years with the FBI. He said he believed Bowers was acting alone, adding, "We do not know that he was known to the forces of order before today."

KDKA television quoted police sources as saying that Bowers had entered the building and shouted, "All Jews must die."

Jones said Bowers was armed with an assault rifle and three handguns.

He added that the authorities believed that the suspect entered the synagogue, assassinated the faithful and left when he met a uniformed policeman. The pair exchanged shots, said Jones, and Bowers re-entered the building before a SWAT team arrived. After a shooting, he surrendered.

Bowers was taken to a hospital where he was classified in fair condition with multiple gunshot wounds.

Trump said in a tweet that he was watching what he described as a "devastating" situation. He told reporters that the killings could have been avoided had there been an armed guard.

"If they had had some kind of protection inside the temple, maybe the situation could have been a lot different, they did not do it," he said. declared. The police are normally present at the synagogue only to ensure security during the summer holidays.

He called on Americans to go beyond hatred and ordered that American flags at the White House and public buildings stole half of the staff. He said that he would go to Pittsburgh, but not when.

The mourners held a candlelight vigil for the victims. The Islamic Center in Pittsburgh has offered condolences and called on its community to donate blood.

The shootings followed attacks on other places of worship in recent years. On April 13, 2014, two shootings took place at a Jewish community center and a community of Jewish retirees, both located in Overland Park, Kansas. A total of three people were killed in the shooting.

In 2015, a white supremacist murdered nine African-Americans at a prayer service in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 2012, a neo-Nazi armed man with ties of white supremacy entered a Sikh Gurdwara – or place of worship – in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and murdered six Sikh Americans.