Pittsburgh shooting: Multiple casualties at Squirrel Hill synagogue – BBC Newsroom (bbc.com) / Oct 27 2018
Eleven people have been killed, officials say, in a gun attack on a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The gunman, who opened fire as the Tree of Life synagogue held a service, was later taken into custody.
President Donald Trump said “a lot of people” had been killed and injured in a “wicked act of mass murder”.
The suspect, who has been officially identified as Robert Bowers, 46, was injured and is receiving treatment.
Two other people are in hospital in a critical condition, police said.
Federal investigators are treating the shooting as a hate crime.
How did the shooting unfold?
Worshippers had gathered at the synagogue, in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood, to mark the Sabbath.
Squirrel Hill has one of the largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania and this would have been the synagogue’s busiest day of the week.
According to reports Mr Bowers, a white male, entered the building during the Saturday morning service armed with an assault rifle and two pistols.
Image copyright The Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh
Reports say he barricaded himself in a room at the synagogue when police approached.
Emergency services arrived at the building at about 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT), and gunshots could be heard.
Pittsburgh’s Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich later confirmed Mr Bowers was in police custody and was being treated in hospital.
The crime scene was “horrific”, he told reporters. “One of the worst I’ve seen, and I’ve [worked] on some plane crashes. It’s very bad,” he added.
He said that two officers were injured in an “initial confrontation” and that a further two Swat officers were later hurt by the gunman when they entered the building. He said that no children were among the casualties.
Image copyright Officers cordon off the area outside the synagogue
What do we know about the gunman?
US media said he had shouted “All Jews must die” as he carried out the attack.
Social media posts by someone with the name Robert Bowers were also reported to be full of anti-Semitic comments.
Pittsburgh FBI’s special agent in charge of the investigation, Bob Jones, told a press conference that he did not know if Mr Bowers was known to authorities prior to events on Saturday.
He said that any motive remains unknown but that authorities believe he was acting alone.
Mr Jones added that the investigation was “in the early stages”. “We will look at every aspect of the suspect’s life,” he said.
Mr Bowers is receiving treatment for what has been described as multiple gunshot wounds.
What has been President Trump’s reaction?
He called the shooting a “terrible, terrible thing”.
“To see this happen again and again, for so many years, it’s just a shame,” he told reporters on Saturday.
He described the gunman as a “maniac” and suggested the US should “stiffen up our laws of the death penalty”.
“These people should pay the ultimate price. This has to stop,” he said.
Mr Trump added that the incident had “little to do” with US gun laws. “If they had protection inside, maybe it could have been a different situation,” he said.
The president later appeared at the Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis, saying: “There must be no tolerance for anti-Semitism. It must be condemned and confronted everywhere and anywhere it appears.”
What about other reaction?
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement that the incident was an “absolute tragedy” and that such acts of violence could not be accepted as “normal”.
He said: “These senseless acts of violence are not who we are as Americans.
“My thoughts right now are focused on the victims, their families and making sure law enforcement has every resource they need.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s president, Jeff Finkelstein, said his “heart goes out to all these families”.
“Now I’m just sad. This should not be happening. Period. It should not be happening in a synagogue. It should not be happening in our neighbourhood here in Squirrel Hill,” he said.
A vigil is due to take place in Squirrel Hill at 18:00 local time on Saturday.
The New York Police Department said it had deployed officers to synagogues throughout the city as a precaution.
Image copyright Armed police are guarding synagogues in New York
The BBC’s Dan Johnson in Washington says the shootings come at a tense time in the US, after a week in which mail bombs were sent to critics of Mr Trump, ahead of crucial mid-term elections next month.
