A suspect has been charged in the shooting deaths of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday.
According to police, Robert Bowers, 46, has been charged with a total of 29 federal counts in the shootings. These include 11 counts of murder and 11 counts of obstruction of the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.
It happened shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, a section of east Pittsburgh with a significant Jewish population. NBC News reported that a lone gunman entered the synagogue during a Saturday morning Sabbath service and began shooting.
Original reports indicated that there were four dead in the attack. Six people were injured, according to NBC News, including four Pittsburgh police officers. None of the injuries to the officers are life-threatening. The suspect was wounded by police after a brief exchange of gunfire, but was later treated in hospital and arrested.
The incident prompted nearby Carnegie Mellon University to be placed on lockdown during the incident with campus activities suspended.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said this incident will be treated as a hate crime., with the investigation being turned over to the FBI.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf was on scene much of the day and participated in a media briefing Saturday afternoon.
“My heart breaks for members of the Jewish community. Today all of Pennsylvania mourns with you," said Wolf in remarks reprinted on the governor's official webpage. "Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in our commonwealth. Any attack on one community of faith in Pennsylvania is an attack against every community of faith in Pennsylvania. And I want the Jewish community across the commonwealth and across the country to know that we stand in support of you as we together mourn this senseless act of violence. The Shabbat is a time for reflection, it’s a time for finding peace, not for violence."
Further details will be passed along when they become available.
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