Officials have released the names of those shot and killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, Oct. 27, in the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history.
The Allegheny County medical examiners’ office released the victims’ names on Sunday. The victims include eight men and three women. They ranged in age from 54 to 97.
The 11 people killed in the synagogue included a married couple, Bernice and Sylvan Simon; and two brothers, Cecil and David Rosenthal. Among the dead were also Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Jerry Rabinowitz, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, Irving Younger, and Rose Mallinger.
Suspected Gunman Charged
Suspected gunman Robert Bowers is being treated for gunshot wounds and is due in court Monday.Officials said Bowers entered the Tree of Life synagogue armed with a rifle and three handguns. He left after about 20 minutes and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement outside.
The attack took place as Saturday Shabbat services were underway. Three different congregations were holding services at the Tree of Life synagogue.
The federal charges include 11 counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death; 11 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence; four counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Bowers had made numerous anti-Semitic statements on social media, including claims that Jews were “the enemy of white people.”
President Donald Trump has called for the death penalty in the wake of the massacre.
“They should pay the ultimate price,” he told the press on Oct. 27. “It’s a terrible thing what’s going on with hate in our country.”
Trump also said that shooters in similar cases involving innocent victims of hate crimes should receive the death penalty.
The President added from Andrews Air Force Base on the way to Indianapolis: “If they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. If they had some kind of protection inside the temple, maybe it could have been a very much different situation.”
“They didn’t have protection. They had a maniac walk in and they didn’t have any protection.”
He told reporters that the violence “has to stop.”
World leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis have expressed their condolences.
