'Stop the words of hate,' Pittsburgh rabbi urges US leaders as survivors speak
Rabbi tells of pulling people away from scene
Suspect Robert Bowers faces court on Monday
The rabbi who led a morning service at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue where 11 people were shot dead has urged America’s political leaders to “stop the words of hate” during an emotional vigil speech on Sunday.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who described himself as a victim, survivor and mourner, drew a standing ovation as he told the crowd: “I want to address for a moment some of our political leaders who were here. Ladies and gentlemen, it has to start with you as our leaders … Stop the words of hate … If it comes from you, Americans will listen.”
He told how the shooting started minutes after he opened the 9.45am service. “I helped pull out the people that I could from the front but alas I had eight people in the back,” he said. “One fortunately survived. Seven of my congregants were shot dead in my sanctuary. My holy place has been defiled.”
The 11 victims of the shooting were named on Sunday. The suspected gunman, Robert Bowers, has been charged with 29 federal crimes including 11 counts of murdering victims exercising their religious beliefs on what Mayor Bill Peduto called the “darkest day of Pittsburgh’s history”. Bowers is being treated for gunshot wounds and is due in court on Monday.
Those who died at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Saturday were aged between 54 and 97, and included a husband and wife and two brothers. They came from all three congregations that were meeting at the synagogue that morning.
Myers reminded people they could choose the path of good. “You don’t have to follow the prone to evil path. We can also be prone to good. If you decide to take that path. It starts with speech. Words of hate are unwelcome in Pittsburg.”
Congregation member Joseph Charny told the Washington Post how he heard a loud noise from downstairs before a man appeared in the doorway and the gunfire began. “I looked up and there were all these dead bodies,” said Charny, a retired psychiatrist. “I wasn’t in the mood to stay there.” The 90-year-old said he ran up to the third floor and hid in a storage room.
Authorities are treating the attack as a hate crime but not domestic terrorism, US attorney Scott Brady said at a press conference on Sunday morning, though he added: “We continue to see where that line is.”
“During the course of his deadly assault on the people of the synagogue, Bowers made statements regarding genocide and his desire to kill Jewish people,” Brady said.
Social media accounts linked to Bowers carried antisemitic statements. According to a criminal complaint, Bowers told a police officer: “They’re committing genocide to my people. I just want to kill Jews.”
Bowers used three Glock 357 handguns and an AR-15 assault rifle, said FBI special agent Robert Jones. Citing an anonymous source, the Associated Press reported the guns were legally owned.
There is no indication the shooter had any accomplices, authorities said. He spent about 20 minutes in the synagogue and shot at police when they arrived. He was wounded before he surrendered.
“Had Bowers made it out of that facility, there is a strong possibility that additional violence would have occurred,” Jones said.
Four police officers were wounded, three by gunfire. One was released from hospital and another could be released on Sunday. Among those in the synagogue who were wounded, two were in critical condition and one was stable.
Dr Karl Williams, chief medical examiner of Allegheny County, listed the victims.
They were: Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65, Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and his brother David Rosenthal, 54; married couple Bernice Simon, 84, and Sylvan Simon, 86; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69.
Williams said he had notified the victims’ families on Saturday. “They are in shock and grieving,” he said.
“This was an attack upon our neighbors and upon our friends and one that we felt very deeply,” Brady said. “The fact that this attack took place during a worship service makes it even more heinous. We will spare no effort or resource in ensuring that the defendant is held fully accountable for this unspeakable and hateful crime.”
The suspect lived in the working-class suburb of South Baldwin. On Sunday, FBI agent Jones said the home and Bowers’ vehicle had been searched but would not comment on what was found.
Few neighbors seemed to know Bowers, an oddity in a community where people exchange pleasantries and take notice of their neighbors, said resident Sharon Lopez.
Dan Hall, a landscaper who never knew Bowers, stood on a front porch hanging Halloween decorations. “I guess this can happen anywhere now,” he said.
Eventually, Bowers’ neighbour spoke to the Guardian. Kerri Owens said she had lived in the area for eight years and Bowers had lived nextdoor for two. But, she said: “I didn’t know him that well. I almost forgot his name.”
Owens said she had seen no indication this was something Bowers might do. He was quiet, she said, she barely knew he was there other than occasionally hearing his TV. He had no visitors she was aware of. When they did see each other he was cordial enough, she said, always saying hello. He told her he worked for a trucking company.
Owens was interviewed extensively by the FBI on Saturday, she said.
Peduto, the Pittsburgh mayor, said the neighborhood where the shooting happened, Squirrel Hill, is the most diverse in western Pennsylvania. The Jewish community was its “backbone”, he said.
“People choose to live there because of the diversity of the community,” Peduto said. “Pittsburgh is a strong town. We are a resilient city. We have been knocked down, and we’ve found ways to stand back up.”
Peduto rejected calls from Donald Trump to use armed guards in houses of worship, to combat mass shooters. “We’re dealing with irrational behavior,” he said. “There is no way you can rationalize a person walking into a synagogue during services and taking the lives of 11 people.
“The approach we need to be looking at is how we take the guns – which is the common denominator of every mass shooting in America – out of the hands of those that are looking to express hatred through murder.”
