Shooting at SoCal synagogue

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A gunman opened fire in a temple near San Diego on Saturday the last day of Passover, killing one person and injuring three, including a rabbi addressing the congregation, authorities said. A suspect was detained by police.

"It was a hate crime, and that will not stand," Steve Vaus, mayor of Poway, told MSNBC. Vaus later told CNN the shooter made hateful statements when he entered the synagogue.

"This shooter was engaged by people in the congregation and those brave people certainly prevented this from being a much worse tragedy," Vaus told CNN.

The incident occurred on the last day of Passover at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, which was scheduled to hold a holiday celebration that started at 11:00 a.m. PDT. The sheriff's office was alerted to an incident at 11:30 a.m.

Sgt. Aaron Meleen of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department told reporters the shooter came into the temple, but was not there when officers arrived. He said the shooter was detained down the street away from the synagogue.

People are in "varying states of injuries," he said, adding that it was an "extremely chaotic scene, with people running everywhere."

The rabbi was shot in the hand, Vaus said.

After the shooting, the rabbi continued to speak, Minoo Anvari, a witness, told a local NBC TV affiliate. She said one of her friends, a woman, was shot.

The shooting has caused chaos and confusion for families, Anvari said, because it is the Sabbath and many members could not use their cell phones for religious reasons.

Poway is about 25 miles northeast of San Diego.

A man has been detained for questioning in connection with a shooting incident at the Chabad of Poway synagogue," the sheriff's department said in a tweet. "Deputies were called to Chabad Way just before 11:30 a.m. There are injuries. This is a developing situation."

Great, another f*****g shooting. Why do they keep on happening in the US?

A woman was killed and three others injured Saturday when a 19-year-old man armed with a rifle opened fire during Passover services at the Chabad of Poway.
Authorities identified the suspected gunman as John T. Earnest, a Rancho Penasquitos resident. He was arrested and is being questioned by homicide detectives.

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus called it a “hate crime,” based on statements the shooter was heard making as he entered the synagogue. Authorities were reviewing his social media accounts and an “open letter” he reportedly wrote before the attack, which happened at about 11:30 a.m. They were also preparing to search his home in Rancho Penasquitos.

The victims, who include a girl and two adult males, were taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. Their conditions were unknown, but officials said they were “stable.”

At an early afternoon press conference, authorities said an off-duty Border Patrol agent was driving by the synagogue and opened fire on the fleeing suspect. The suspect called 911 shortly after and told a CHP dispatcher that he was involved in the shooting.

Around the same time, a San Diego police K9 officer was racing to the scene after hearing about the shooting on the police radio. The officer was monitoring the CHP radio as well and stopped where the suspect had pulled over, at Rancho Bernardo Road and Interstate 15.

“He jumped out of the car with his hands up,” San Diego police Chief David Nisleit said, and was taken into custody without incident.

A rifle was found on the passenger seat. Sheriff Bill Gore said “AR-type assault weapon” was used in the shooting.

Founded in 1986 by Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Chabad of Poway is affiliated with Lubavitch, a branch within Orthodox Judaism’s Hasidic movement. It bills itself as a place where “Traditional Jewish values are brought to life in a joyous, non-judgmental atmosphere.”

It grew quickly, attracting families to a congregation modeled on the bustling Jewish enclaves that existed in New York City and Eastern Europe. Dozens moved within walking distance so they could follow the requirement to not operate machinery on the Sabbath. The campus underwent a $1.7 million expansion project in the mid-1990s, building a 13,000 square-foot facility with a sanctuary, a meeting hall, and offices.

In 2015, in an effort to “start fresh again with new and young energy,” the Chabad brought in Rabbi Mendel and Shterna Goldstein from Brooklyn, and they’ve introduced a variety of programs, including a lecture series featuring Holocaust survivors.

Great, another f*****g shooting. Why do they keep on happening in the US?

I'm wondering about this too.

Because the DSA was created by hate, runs on hate, and will be destroyed by hate.

The 19-year-old suspect in Saturday’s Poway synagogue shooting, John T. Earnest, is the product of a seemingly tight-knit family with strong ties to the San Diego community, although online postings suggest a preoccupation with advancing a revolution to preserve the European race.

is actions appear to have been revealed in an open letter, published on the Internet forum 8chan and attributed to him. The forum is a photo-based website where people can create and moderate their own boards. Because of its limited rules, it is sometimes used anonymously by members of the far-right, white nationalist movement.

The missive is riddled with strong language, hate speech and anti-Semitic epithets. In it, the author paints himself as a martyr for white people and writes that he hates “anyone who seeks the destruction of my race.” He also claims to have previously set fire to an Escondido mosque, and that he did so in support of accused New Zealand Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant. Tarrant, he says, was the catalyst for his actions.

“I am a testament to the fact that literally anyone can do this,” he wrote. “If you told me even 6 months ago that I would do this I would have been surprised.”

Earnest, a Rancho Penasquitos resident, is enrolled at Cal State University, San Marcos. President Karen Haynes confirmed his attendance and said in a statement that the state school is cooperating with authorities. The online poster claims to be “doing well” in nursing school and describes himself as, “just a normal dude who wanted to have a family, help and heal people, and play piano.” Earnest previously attended Mt. Carmel High School, where his father taught.

In the open letter, the author quotes several scriptures from the Bible’s New Testament to justify his beliefs.

“My God understands why I did what I did,” he wrote in the self-described manifesto.

Great, another f*****g shooting. Why do they keep on happening in the US?

The rabbi of a California synagogue that was the scene of a mass shooting mourned the loss of a worshipper and hailed the actions of heroes who put themselves in harm's way to protect others.

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein detailed the events of Saturday morning in an emotional press conference outside the synagogue Sunday afternoon. Goldstein was preparing for his sermon when he heard a loud bang. He walked out into the temple's lobby, where he encountered the gunman and worshipper Lori Kaye, who had been fatally shot.

Kaye and her family had come to the service on the last day of Passover to honor the memory of her mother, who had recently passed away. Goldstein described Kaye as a longtime friend who went out of her way to help those in need, adding that Kaye helped the synagogue secure a loan for their building in the early 90s.

The gunman, identified by authorities as John Earnest, then pointed his gun directly at Goldstein in the lobby. He opened fire, hitting Goldstein in the hand.

"I turned around and I saw the children that were playing in the banquet hall. I ran to gather them together," Goldstein said. "My granddaughter, four-and-a-half years old, sees her grandpa with a bleeding hand and she sees me screaming and shouting, 'Get out, get out.'"

The gunman continued to fire as Goldstein and Almog Peretz tried to usher children to safety. Peretz was shot in the leg by bullet shrapnel, and 8-year-old Noya Dahan was hit in her leg and on her face. Both are recovering at home.

The gunman's firearm then jammed, Goldstein said, Oscar Stewart and off-duty Border Patrol agent Jonathan Morales chased off the gunman. Stewart tried to tackle the gunman, and Morales fired after the gunman as he fled the building.

Morales' gunfire did not hit the gunman, though Morales did manage to hit the gunman's car.

"After this terrorist left, I turned around to assess the situation. I'm walking through the lobby and I see Lori laying on the floor unconscious and her dear husband, Dr. Howard Kaye...is trying to resuscitate her," Goldstein continued. "He faints and he's lying there on the floor next to his wife. And then their daughter Hannah comes up screaming.....it was the most heart-wrenching sight I could have seen."

"I was frozen in time," Goldstein remarked. "I grabbed a prayer shawl, wrapped my arms, my fingers in it that were hanging, dangling and bleeding all over the place. My congregation was gathered around, and I said, 'I've got to do something.' I got up on a chair...and I looked at our congregation, and I said...'We are a Jewish nation that will stand tall. We will not let anyone or anything take us down.'"

Kaye was taken to a Palomar Medical Center Escondido, where she later died of her injuries. Goldstein, Peretz and Dahan were also hospitalized but were released by Sunday morning.

"Lori took the bullet for all of us. She died to protect all of us. She didn't deserve to die," Goldstein said through tears. "She's such a kind, sweet-hearted human being. She didn't deserve to die right in front of my eyes."

Despite Kaye's death, Goldstein said the situation could have been much worse had the gunman's weapon not jammed. The gunman, Goldstein said, also never entered the sanctuary, which was full with more than a hundred worshippers.

"We need to battle darkness with light. No matter how dark the world is, we need to think of light. A little bit of light pushes away a little darkness. A lot of light pushes away a lot more," he said. "No matter what religion you're from...we need to tilt the scale."

Goldstein added that he had a phone conversation with President Donald Trump, who expressed his condolences and discussed his love of peace and support for Judaism.