#Tree of life shooting trial

He allegedly killed 11 people before he was shot and wounded and surrendered to police. On 27, October, 2018, Robert Bowers, then 46, allegedly walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and began shooting at worshippers.

#Tree of life shooting trial

Who is Robert Bowers? The alleged antisemite on trial for Tree of Life synagogue shooting The people who lost their lives in the shooting were: Joyce Fienberg, 75, Richard Gottfried, 65, Rose Mallinger, 97, Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, Cecil and David Rosenthal, 59 and 54, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, 84 and 86, Daniel Stein, 71, Melvin Wax, 88, and Irving Younger, 69. The shooting was the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history, and it carried a particular edge given that it was linked to HIAS’ work protecting and resettling refugees - work born out of the Jewish experience of persecution in Europe in the decades leading up to the Holocaust. Jerry Rabinowitz, a physician, was killed after moving towards the sound of the shooting to see if anyone needed medical assistance. The first people killed were the brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal. Eleven people were killed during the shooting and seven more were injured. The shooting at Tree of Life traumatised the historically Jewish Squirrel Hill community and Jews across the nation. Pittsburgh Jewish community monitoring hate speech amid trial of suspect in synagogue massacre Who were the victims? The materials “would turn anyone’s stomach,” she said. and his hateful vitriol” on the internet. Shawn Brokos, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said officials have monitored “general chatter in support of the defendant. The head of security for Pittsburgh’s Jewish community says there has been an “uptick in hate speech” on the internet, but no specific threats, in the early stages of the trial of the man accused of killing 11 worshippers at a synagogue here in 2018.Īnd Jewish leaders say that while the trial is bringing out the worst of extremists in some dark corners of the web, it’s also brought an outpouring of support from the community - ranging from law enforcement agencies helping with security to local food vendors collaborating to bring meals to victims’ families during the trial. Pittsburgh Jewish community monitoring hate speech amid trial The prosecutor described the attack in graphic detail, including how Mr Bowers shot one woman in the face as she tried to protect her daughter. “Once he entered the synagogue the defendant began to hunt, he moved from room to room, upstairs and downstairs … looking for Jewish worshippers to kill,” she said. That day, he then drove to the majority Jewish neighbourhood with an trove of weapons. “Jews are a cancer on the planet, Jews are evil creatures, Jews are pedophiles,” he had posted online before the attack. Pointing to social media posts made before the massacre, Ms Song said that the defendant wanted “to destroy, to kill and to defile” Jews. Song told jurors that Robert Bowers was motivated by his hatred of Jewish people. In the prosecution’s opening statement, lead prosecutor Soo C. President Joe Biden voiced his opposition to the death penalty when he ran for president in 2020, and Attorney General Merrick Garland placed a moritorium on all federal executions two years ago. Whether Mr Bowers would actually be killed by the state if convicted remains to be seen. Mr Bowers’ lawyers have also claimed that he has epilepsy and schizophrenia. Mr Bowers caused extraordinary harm to many, many people.”īut Ms Clarke suggested that in Mr Bowers’ mind, he genuinely believed was trying to help people by targeting Jews. In her opening statement, Robert Bowers’ attorney Judy Clarke admitted that he went to Tree of Life in 2018 and “shot every person he saw” and said that “there is no making sense of this senseless act. Prosecutors rejected the request, paving the way for the case to head to trial. His attorneys had previously requested a plea deal for him to plead guilty in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table. If convicted, Robert Bowers could face the death penalty. The judge assured those in attendance that the courtroom was cleaned and well ventilated. Judge Robert Colville noted to attendees that a visitor to the courtroom yesterday was diagnosed with Covid-19.

The Torah arc that reads 'Tree of Life' in Hebrew /1TzRFQER1jĭay two of the trial of Robert Bowers has begun in Pittsburgh. The bathroom that Rabbi Jeffrey Myers hid in The court released images of many of the subjects we wrote about yesterday: