Pittsburgh neighborhood mourns victims of deadly synagogue shooting

PITTSBURGH — An overwhelming sense of anguish was palpable throughout a suburb of this industrial city Sunday as the community flocked for a second evening to pay tribute to the victims of a synagogue slaying here.

Officials released the identities of the 11 people slain by a gunman who told arresting law enforcement officers that he “wanted to kill Jews” before attacking worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

For Ellen Cohen, who was married in the synagogue and worshipped there for 25 years, the sounds of gunshots heard at her residence down the street left her shaken and thankful that her 88-year-old mother, Marcia, had slept in that day.

“Those were all her friends,” Cohen told the Review-Journal. “It’s sad. We have the will to go on, but the next week will be very hard and sad.”

Cohen said the “outpouring from the community has been so warm.”

And thousands turned out for a second night Sunday to pay their respect to those lost to the hateful attack on innocents killed because of their faith.

“What happened yesterday will not break us,” Rabbi Jonathan Perlman told the Squirrel Hill Synagogue interfaith vigil for the victims of the mass shooting.

The shooting is the deadliest attack on Jewish congregants in U.S. history, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Jeremy Pappas, the director of the ADL region that includes Pennsylvania, said he and other Jewish leaders were gathered in the Pittsburgh area to provide help and comfort the families of the deceased.

Mayor Bill Peduto said the tragedy “is one of the darkest days in Pittsburgh’s history.”

President Donald Trump denounced the act of anti-Semitism as evil.

Trump said the “scourge of anti-Semitism can not be ignored, cannot be tolerated and cannot be allowed to continue.”

But the mayor disagreed with the president’s suggestion that arming more people in houses of worship, or schools, could prevent the number of mass-casualty events occurring with alarming regularity in the United States.

Wave of attacks

The Pittsburgh mass shooting comes just a year and weeks after a lone gunman shot and killed 58 concertgoers and injured hundreds of other people during a rampage on the Las Vegas Strip.

And the synagogue slayings Saturday follow other hate crime attacks that include the 2016 slaying of members of the LGBTQ community at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and the attack three years ago on African-American worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Just a year ago, a lone gunman walked through a Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and opened fire on victims at close range. There were 26 worshippers killed in the Sunday service as the man sought to kill his mother-in-law, who was not there.

In the latest case, federal officials have charged Robert Bowers, 46, of Pittsburgh, with 29 counts, including hate crimes, for the attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said federal prosecutors are seeking approval to pursue the death penalty against Bowers. Brady said he has begun the process to get Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ approval as required by law to pursue a capital case against Bowers.

Brady says multiple search warrants have been issued in the investigation of Bowers, a long-haul trucker who worked as an independent contractor.

Bowers was injured in a shootout with police and is being treated and is under guard. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

The suspect spewed anti-Semitic remarks on social media before the attack here.

Residents shocked

Residents here were clearly shocked by the surreal nature that befell their community, and targeted their neighbors for a senseless death.

Sony Korzeniswsky, 23, attends a nearby synagogue, but lives close to the Tree of Life complex. She attended vigils and dropped off two bouquets of flowers at a makeshift memorial.

She carried the flowers to the two vigils before placing them with others at the memorial

“This was the right place to put them,” she told the Review-Journal.

Korzeniswsky said she never thought the deadliest attack on Jewish worshippers “would happen right down the street in my neighborhood.”

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., whose congressional district includes the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, was working with the families and local religious leaders assisting those suffering from the pain the attacks have brought.

Las Vegas congresswoman Dina Titus, D-Nev., has offered Doyle support and has spoken with the ADL and Jewish community leaders in southern Nevada.

“The attack on the synagogue in Pittsburgh is horrific,” Titus said. “My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.”

Titus has sought tighter gun controls in the wake of the Las Vegas tragedy, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The Las Vegas gunman used 23 weapons fitted with “bump stocks” to accelerate the rate of fire of semi-automatic rifles. Trump administration efforts to reclassify bump stocks, and congressional efforts to ban them, have yet to be implemented or passed.

Bowers used a semi-automatic rifle and three handguns in his attack here. A law enforcement official said Bowers had a license to carry firearms and legally owned his guns.

Like residents of Las Vegas, those who live here are searching for answers as to why such a wanton act could happen in their community.

“We’re like everybody else,” Cohen said. “We never thought it would happen here — and it happened here.

“It’s so sad,” she said.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.