Pittsburgh shooting: Married couple, two brothers and 97-year-old among 11 victims fatally gunned down

Katy Clifton28 October 2018
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A married couple, two brothers and a 97-year-old woman were among those gunned down during the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, US officials said.

Names of all 11 victims - eight men and three women - were released by medical examiner Dr Karl Williams during a news conference Sunday, all of them middle-aged or elderly.

The victims include a pair of brothers and a husband and wife, with their ages ranging 50 to 97.

Those who lost their lives in the anti-Semitic attack included Irvin Younger, 69, Rose Mallinger, 97, Daniel Stein, 71, Sylvan Simon, 86, Bernice Simon, 84.

Jewish communities hold candlelight vigils for Pittsburgh victims

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Brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, 59 and 54, were also among those named, alongside Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, Richard Gottfried, 65, and Joyce Fineburg, 75.

Another victim was 88-year-old Melvin Wax, who was always one of the first to arrive at synagogue and among the last to leave.

"He and I used to, at the end of services, try to tell a joke or two to each other," said Myron Snider, a fellow member of New Light Congregation, which rented space in the basement of Tree of Life.

"Most of the time they were clean jokes. Most of the time. I won't say all the time. But most of the time."

Mr Snider said "Mel," a retired accountant in his late 80s, was unfailingly generous and a "sweet, sweet guy."

Vigil participants hold candles and sing a Jewish prayer
Getty Images

The man suspected of carrying out the horrific shooting has been named and charged with obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.

Federal prosecutors said Robert Bowers was charged on Saturday night in a 29-count criminal complaint, which includes 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder.

Other charges include weapons offences and charges alleging the 46-year-old seriously injured police officers while obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs.

Six people, including four police officers, were also wounded during the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighbourhood on Saturday.

According to charging documents made public on Sunday, Bowers expressed hatred of Jews during the rampage.

It also said he told officers that Jews were committing genocide and he wanted them all to die.

Robert Bowers, the suspect of the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue
AFP/Getty Images

Calls began coming in to 911 from the synagogue just before 10 am on Saturday, reporting "they were being attacked," court documents said.

Bowers, 46, shot one of the first two officers to respond in the hand, and the other was wounded by "shrapnel and broken glass."

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 but the document did not describe the other officer's condition.

Two other people in the synagogue, a man and a woman, were wounded by Bowers and were in stable condition, the document said.

Armed police in Pittsburgh after the shooting
AP

Bowers, who was armed with an AR-15 rifle and three handguns, told an officer while he was being treated for his injuries "that he wanted all Jews to die and also that they were committing genocide to his people," the affidavit said.

He 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 in a 29-count federal criminal complaint that included charges of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs - a federal hate crime - and using a firearm to commit murder.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the charges "could lead to the death penalty". It wasn't clear whether Bowers had an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Community comes together after Pittsburgh shooting
AP

The nation's 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's Square.

"In reality, all of us are wounded by this inhuman act of violence," he said.

He prayed for God "to 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."

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