Mass shooting in Pittsburgh synagogue

Post Reply New Topic

Police have a man in custody after an apparent shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday that has left eight dead and multiple people injured, including three police officers. 

The gunman walked into the building and yelled "All Jews must die!" then began shooting congregants, according to the news station.

It wouldn't be surprising if the shooter is another avid supporter of Trump (like the serial bomber caught in Florida), given that Trump is implying blame for this shooting on those who were killed or injured.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tree-of-life-synagogue-shooting_us_5bd49519e4b0a8f17ef843e0

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/27/18032314/trump-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-tree-of-life

Here's what we know so far about the suspect Robert Bowers, 46:

The shooter made anti-Jewish comments during the incident, a law enforcement official told CNN. The shooting took place on the same day as Saturday Shabbat services. At the time of the shooting, three different congregations were holding services at the Tree of Life facility.

Bower has an active license and has made at least six known firearm purchases since 1996, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said.

Shortly before the shooting, Bowers posted on his Gab account that he "can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in." Gab is a social media platform that advocates for free speech and puts nearly no restrictions on content. A law enforcement source confirmed to CNN that investigators believe this social media posting and others belong to Bowers and that the language on his account matches the suspected motivation behind the shootings.

In that same posting, Bowers wrote HIAS, a Jewish refugee advocacy group, "likes to bring in invaders that kill our people."
Seventeen days before the attack, Bowers posted web page from HIAS that listed a number of Shabbats that were being held on behalf of refugees. the official said. On that list was a Shabbat address that is less than a mile away from the Tree of Life Synagogue. (The chief executive officer of HIAS, Mark Hetfield, said Bowers is not known to the group.

He has reposted a number of posts on his social media accounts that tell Jews to get out, or leave. (In a statement posted online, Gab says they "unequivocally disavows and condemns all acts of terrorism and violence...Gab's mission is very simple: to defend free expression and individual liberty online for all people." Gab said it was alerted to the suspect's profile on their platform, backed up the data, suspended the account, and contacted the FBI.)

But trump and trump supports like and support Jews while liberals say Jews are horrible due to Israel

There are supporters and haters on both sides, really. It can go in either direction. The right often either likes them because Israel the greatest ally or hates them because conspiracy theories. The left often either likes them because minorities or hates them because Israeli "apartheid".

They do have an apartheid system in the West Bank.

Please don't open a can of worms right now. I don't like your use of the word "They"

I assume he was referring to the state of Israel here and not "the jews".

Of course. I never say "the Jews". Most of the best voices against Israel are Jewish.

It wouldn't be surprising if the shooter is another avid supporter of Trump (like the serial bomber caught in Florida), given that Trump is implying blame for this shooting on those who were killed or injured.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tree-of-life-synagogue-shooting_us_5bd49519e4b0a8f17ef843e0

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/27/18032314/trump-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-tree-of-life

A voter registration for Robert D. Bowers states that he is an unaffiliated voter:

his writings on social media indicate he wrote that he did not vote for Trump and held some animosity toward the president because he saw him as a “globalist” who was not doing enough against Jewish people.

Robert Bowers doesn’t appear to be a Donald Trump fan from his social account. He also wrote several hours before the shooting in a comment thread, “For the record, I did not vote for him nor have I owned, worn or even touched a maga hat.” That came in reply to a post about Trump.