As many as 11 people were killed in a shooting incident at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg on Saturday.
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich confirmed that six others were wounded in the shooting, CNN reported. Four of the wounded were police officers who responded to the crime scene, Hissrich stated, adding that none of the dead included children.
"These incidents usually occur in other cities, today the nightmare has hit home in the city of Pittsburgh. It's a very horrific crime scene, it's one of the worst I've seen," Hissrich said.
Robert Bowers, 46, has been identified as the perpetrator of the shooting.
Hissrich stated that Bowers had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and is in stable condition. He was earlier taken to Mercy Hospital following his surrender.
Addressing a presser, Scott Brady, the United States attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, stated that criminal charges would be pinned against Bowers at the earliest, adding that the hate crime prosecution will have the full backing of the US Attorney's office.
In a statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed that the Department of Justice "will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty."
Authorities recovered a rifle and three handguns from the crime scene, said FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge Bob Jones.
Federal law enforcement official told CNN that investigators are probing anti-Jewish social media posts, believed to have been posted by Bowers. Investigators have identified what is suspected to be the motive for the incident from the postings on a Gab account.
"I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in," Bowers wrote in his final post, which was made five minutes before the police were first alerted of the shooting incident.
In another post, he wrote that Jews were aiding the transport of migrating caravans in parts of South America. He also aimed criticisms at United States President Donald Trump in his posts, saying that the latter was surrounded by too many Jews.
In his reaction to the incident, President Donald Trump condemned the shooting, saying it was a "terrible, terrible thing."
"If there was an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop him," Trump said at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
