11 Dead, 6 Wounded in Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

11 Dead, 6 Wounded in Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

A gunman entered a Pittsburgh synagogue during Saturday services, killing 11 worship attendees and wounding six other people, including four police officers, before he was taken into custody

  • By Jessica Davis
  • October 29, 2018

A gunman entered a Pittsburgh synagogue during Saturday services, killing 11 worship attendees and wounding six other people, including four police officers, before he was taken into custody. Among other charges, federal hate crime charges have been filed against the suspect in what is believed to have been an anti-Semitic act.

At the time of the attack Saturday morning, the weekly Shabbat services were getting underway at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s predominantly Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The gunman, armed with an assault rifle and three handguns, entered the synagogue at about 9:50 a.m. and opened fire. He reportedly made multiple anti-Semitic comments during his attack.

The first 911 call came from someone inside the building about 4 minutes after the gunman began attacking, and 10 minutes after the attack began, at 10 a.m., the first responding police officers arrived. The two officers encountered the suspect and they exchanged fire. The suspect reentered the synagogue and more officers, including a SWAT team, began to arrive.

The SWAT team entered the building at 10:29 a.m. and encountered the gunman almost 20 minutes later. The suspect opened fire on them until he was cornered, convinced to surrender, and taken into custody.

Three police officers were shot and one was injured by shrapnel, according to authorities. Two of the six people injured were listed as being in critical condition.

The FBI is leading the investigation. FBI Special Agent Bob Jones, director of the FBI’s Pittsburgh office, said, “This is the most horrific crime scene I’ve seen in 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Council for Public Affairs described it as the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 77% of Americans Support Gun Detection Technology in Schools, Workplaces, and Houses of Worship

    More than three-quarters of Americans (77.4%) believe gun detection technology should be deployed in schools, workplaces, and other public spaces, according to new survey data released recently. The national survey shows strong support for incorporating camera-based gun detection into existing video surveillance systems. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Beyond Containment: Redefining Cybersecurity and the Digital Campus at Washington College

    In the aftermath of a ransomware attack, Washington College stood at a crossroads — its legacy defined by centuries of academic excellence, but its digital infrastructure revealing the fragile underbelly of modern campus operations. Read Now

  • California School District Protects Campuses With Cloud-Managed Access Control

    Established in 1901 in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mountain View Los Altos High School District (MVLA) serves 4,400 students across the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. It houses two award-winning high school campuses commonly ranked in the top 1 percent nationally; it also hosts a continuation high school, an adult education campus, an alternative academy for arts and technology, and a nontraditional high school program held at an innovation center. Read Now

Most   Popular