In the city, thousands gathered for a vigil Saturday night. Some blamed the slaughter on the nation’s political climate.<\/b>
\nPITTSBURGH \u2014 The suspect in the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue told officers that Jews were committing genocide and that he wanted them all to die, according to a charging document made public early Sunday.
Robert Gregory Bowers killed eight men and three women inside the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday during worship services before a tactical police team tracked him down and shot him, police said in the affidavit, which contained some previously unreported details on the shooting and the police response.
Calls began coming in to 911 from the synagogue just before 10 a.m. Saturday, reporting \u201cthey were being attacked,\u201d the document said. Bowers shot one of the first two officers to respond in the hand, and the other was wounded by \u201cshrapnel and broken glass.\u201d
A tactical team found Bowers on the third floor, where he shot two officers multiple times, the affidavit said. One officer was described as critically wounded; the document did not describe the other officer\u2019s condition.
Two other people in the synagogue, a man and a woman, were wounded by Bowers and were in stable condition, the document said.
Bowers told an officer while he was being treated for his injuries \u201cthat he wanted all Jews to die and also that they (Jews) were committing genocide to his people,\u201d the affidavit said.
Bowers was charged late Saturday with 11 state counts of criminal homicide, six counts of aggravated assault and 13 counts of ethnic intimidation in what the leader of the Anti-Defamation League called the deadliest attack on Jews in U. S. history.
Bowers was also charged Saturday in a 29-count federal criminal complaint that included charges of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs \u2014 a federal hate crime \u2014 and using a firearm to commit murder. U. S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the charges \u201ccould lead to the death penalty.\u201d
It wasn\u2019t clear whether Bowers had an attorney to speak on his behalf. Law enforcement officials planned to discuss the massacre at a news conference Sunday morning.
The nation\u2019s latest mass shooting drew condemnation and expressions of sympathy from politicians and religious leaders of all stripes. With the midterm election just over a week away, it also reignited a longstanding and bitter debate over guns.
Pope Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh on Sunday in St. Peter\u2019s Square.
\u201cIn reality, all of us are wounded by this inhuman act of violence,\u201d he said. He prayed for God \u201cto help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies, reinforcing the sense of humanity, respect for life and civil and moral values.\u201d
German Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s spokesman quoted Merkel on Twitter as offering her condolences and saying that \u201call of us must confront anti-Semitism with determination \u2014 everywhere.\u201d
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote in a condolence message to President Donald Trump that \u201cthis abhorrent crime reminds us all to do what is in our power to advocate against hatred and violence, against anti-Semitism and exclusion, and to counter with determination those who incite them.\u201d
Trump on Saturday said the outcome might have been different if the synagogue \u201chad some kind of protection\u201d from an armed guard, while Pennsylvania\u2019s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, up for re-election, noted that once again \u201cdangerous weapons are putting our citizens in harm\u2019s way.\u201d
Calling the shooting an \u201cevil anti-Semitic attack,\u201d Trump ordered flags at federal buildings throughout the U. S. to be flown at half-staff in respect for the victims. He said he planned to travel to Pittsburgh, but offered no details.
In the city, thousands gathered for a vigil Saturday night. Some blamed the slaughter on the nation\u2019s political climate.
\u201cWhen you spew hate speech, people act on it. Very simple. And this is the result. A lot of people dead. Senselessly,\u201d said Stephen Cohen, co-president of New Light Congregation, which rents space at Tree of Life.
Little was known about Bowers, who had no apparent criminal record but who is believed to have expressed virulently anti-Semitic views on social media. Authorities said it appears he acted alone.
Worshippers \u201cwere brutally murdered by a gunman targeting them simply because of their faith,\u201d said Bob Jones, head of the FBI\u2019s Pittsburgh office, though he cautioned the shooter\u2019s full motive was not yet known.
Scott Brady, the chief federal prosecutor in western Pennsylvania, pledged that \u201cjustice in this case will be swift and it will be severe.\u201d
The gunman targeted a building that housed three separate congregations, all of which were conducting Sabbath services when the attack began just before 10 a.m. in the tree-lined residential neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, about 10 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh and the hub of Pittsburgh\u2019s Jewish community.
The synagogue door was unlocked on the Sabbath \u201cbecause people are coming for services, and the bell would be ringing constantly. So they do not lock the door, and anybody can just walk in,\u201d said Marilyn Honigsberg, administrative assistant for New Light. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what this man did.\u201d
Michael Eisenberg, the immediate past president of the Tree of Life, said synagogue officials had not gotten any threats that he knew of before the shooting. But security was a concern, he said, and the synagogue had started working to improve it.
\u2022 At least 10 dead in Pittsburgh synagogue attack: sources
\u2022 Charges filed against suspected Pittsburgh synagogue gunman
\u2022 Suspect in synagogue slayings made frequent anti-Semitic posts on social media
\u2022 Chicago police step up patrols near synagogues after Pittsburgh shooting
\u2022 Trump calls Pittsburgh synagogue attack \u2018evil\u2019 anti-Semitism, stumps for GOP<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 25<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: -3<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 9<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 9<\/div>\n

TW likes: 9<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: -10<\/div>\n<\/div>\n