PA - 11 killed, 6 injured in mass shooting at Pittsburgh Synagogue, 27 Oct 2018 *guilty, death sentence*

[oceanblueeyes]

From briefing this morning (Sunday 10/28):

• Slain victims were all 50 and older, included a husband and wife, and 2 brothers, one woman was in her 90s
• US ADA, Mayor, ME, Public lipSafety Director, Chief of Police, Director of Jewish Federation, FBI Special Agent in Charge participated
  
• 2 injured officers have been released, 2 remain in the hospital
• Mayor: Won’t try to understand these acts, will work to eradicate it
• All the weapons shooter brought into the synagogue were used, 1 assault weapon and 3 glocks
• Treated as a hate crime, not domestic terrorism at this time, no indication that there were any accomplices
  
• 3 congregations were meeting in that facility, shooter attacked members of all 3, victims found in 3 different locations
• Estimated the incident lasted 20 minutes
• Initial shots at 9:45, call went out at 9:54
• Shooter in fair condition at Allegheny Hospital
• Autopsies happening now, ME working with the Jewish officials to word to adhere to Jewish tradition regarding deceased
• Lots of shots fired, casings everywhere
• Looking for surveillance video now
• Mayor: commented on DJT’s calls for armed guards, said it is these shootings are acts of irrational behavior, should not try to mitigate, but eradicate, take the guns out of the hands of these irrational individuals
• Mayor: Pittsburgh feeling outpouring of support from across the world, let this episode be another mark in the March of humanity that we are all one

I watched it and all of it was really heartwarming and terribly sad.

Again I will never understand why anyone would want to hurt the Jewish people. They are usually very law abiding people who do so much for their communities.

I dont understand how anyone could even stand to be around anyone who is blatantly anti semitic filled with nothing but hate in their heart.

Imo

 

[MaryG12]

Please let's not call him the shooter, he is murderer. He knew what he was wrong. His last post on Gab said he didn't care what it looked like. Of course he was legally sane.

I've never even heard of Gab prior to this incident.

And, I agree with you, this guy made the conscious choice to shoot up a synagogue.

This is one case where I agree with the death penalty.

It cannot be swayed.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I no longer rely on the SPLC to define who is a hate group. Imo they have their own agenda when and who they label.

Just recently they paid millions to a man that they had labeled by the SPLC as running a hate organization with in truth it was the total opposite of a hate group.

They have targeted other too in error.

Imo

 

[Betty P]

I've never even heard of Gab prior to this incident.

And, I agree with you, this guy made the conscious choice to shoot up a synagogue.

This is one case where I agree with the death penalty.

It cannot be swayed.

Agree, but the death penalty alone isn't going to solve this problem. We need to do more, something to stop the viral spread of radicalism and hate for others that turns into violence. Domestic terrorism.

 

[Herat]

Re-instituting the death penalty was proposed by the WH as a knee-jerk reaction to the first terrorism episode this week.

Death penalty no deterrent.

Weak

 

[margarita25]

Slain victims named:
Live updates: Mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue - CNN

• Joyce Fienberg, 75, Oakland neighborhood, Pittsburgh
• Richard Gottfried, 65, Ross Township
• Rose Mallinger, 97, Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Pittsburgh
• Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, Edgewood Borough
• Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54, brothers, Squirrel Hill
• Bernice and Sylvan Simon, 84 and 86, married, Wilkinsburg
• Daniel Stein, 71, Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh
• Melvin Wax, 88, Squirrel Hill, City of Pittsburgh
• Irving Younger, 69, Mount Washington neighborhood, Pittsburgh

No words.

 

[margarita25]

Going in and and mowing down a group of peaceful senior citizens minding their own business and coming together for peaceful prayer/baby naming ceremony. This is so sickening. I can’t stand it.

All these mass shootings are horrible. And I’ve probably been here on threads for all of them in the last 6 years. But this one has hit me especially hard.

 

[CocoChanel]

There has been no word on how many worshipers were inside the Tree of Life Synagogue as yet. The FBI has said they do not know that number at this time. They also did not confirm what types of ceremonies may have been taking place, only that the building houses 3 separate congregations and that victims were found in 3 separate places.

That said, it strikes me that all of the slain congregants were over 50. If the story (rumor) is true that one of the ceremonies was a bris, I would expect some younger people were there, including the baby boy whom the ceremony would be for. I am so very grateful that none of these folks, if there, were injured. But it is especially sorrowful that the ones who died were perhaps not as able to quickly run from the horror than unfolded. They were perhaps the most vulnerable in that building, and that’s who the shooter was able to kill. Did not think this could be more despicable, but here we are. My heart is hurting so.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Could someone please explain to me why any high ranking politician would ever want to be associated with the anti semitic hate mongers like Louis Farakan?

Even proudly standing beside him to have their photo taken with him? Doesnt he have millions of followers? If so I think that is so revealing as to how many truly must harbor hatred for the Jewish people. It blows my mind even thinking about it.

I still have no clue why anyone would have such an extreme hatred for all Jewish people.

All the haters probably dont even know the people they proudly proclaim they have such hatred toward.

I have known many Jewish families in my life and I find them very hard working... kind..devout faith with close knit families. There is much to be admired imo.

That is why the blanket hatred of them all will never make any logical sense to me. Why??

I highly doubt any Jewish person had ever done one thing unkind toward this evil hate filled murderer.

It's terrible we have anti semitic haters of any kind toward them simply because they are Jewish.

All of this blind ignorant hatred against anyone must stop even if it doesn't lead to what this hateful violent man did.

It's still abhorrent behavior that we must never tolerate in our country.

Imo hate spewing or threats of any kind on the internet is far more dangerous than yelling fire in a theater.

People who do so should be held legally accountable when any hate fill rant or threat is first made or if it is said elsewhere.

Threats of any kind shouldn't ever be accepted in our society by anyone against anyone no matter who is targeted. That is the only hope we have of stopping it.

Imo

 

[margarita25]

“Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto called the attack the “darkest day of Pittsburgh’s history” after the victims' names were read out Sunday morning.”

Snip

“We will not try to rationalize irrational behavior,” Peduto told reporters. “We will work to eradicate it. We will work to eradicated it from our city, and our nation, and our world. Hatred will not have a place anywhere.”“

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: Authorities name the 11 killed in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting - The Washington Post

——-

(A woman kneels to place a candle outside the Tree of Life Synagogue after a shooting there left 11 people dead in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

Suspect Charged With 29 Federal Counts In Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

“"It's one of the worst that I've seen and I've been on some plane crashes," Hissrich said. "It's very bad."“

——-

“Two brothers and a married couple were among the victims after suspected gunman Robert Bowers went on a rampage during a weekly service at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

The victims’ families are “in shock” and “grieving,” Dr. Karl Williams, the chief medical examiner for Allegheny county told reporters Sunday.”

Snip

“FBI special agent Robert Jones said it remained unclear why Bowers chose the Tree of Life synagogue and whether or not he had scoped out the premises before launching his attack.”

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting treated as hate crime, victims' families 'in shock'

 

[margarita25]

“Why the suspect is charged with hate crimes and not domestic terrorism
The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting is being prosecuted as a hate crime, but not as domestic terrorism.

US Attorney Scott Brady explained why: "The distinction between a hate crime and domestic terrorism is a hate crime is where an individual is animated by a hatred or certain animus toward a person of a certain ethnicity or religious faith.
"It becomes domestic terrorism where there's an ideology that that person is then also trying to propagate through violence. We continue to see where that line is. But for now, at this place in our investigation, we're treating it as a hate crime and charging it as such."“

Live updates: Mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue - CNN

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Re-instituting the death penalty was proposed by the WH as a knee-jerk reaction to the first terrorism episode this week.

Death penalty no deterrent.

Weak

I respectfully disagree. The death penalty was never enacted as a detterent for any other person..period.

It has always been based on individuals and their individual case based on the severity of the crime or crimes each individual has committed.

It is the harshest punishment allowed by law in the states who have it and including federal cases where the death penalty is applied in cases such as this one. .

It was no knee jerk reaction. This most definitely is a death penalty qualified case.

Imo if he is tried by the feds this will be a death penalty case. Even state attorney general said these charges qualify as a death penalty case. AG Sessions also said this is a death penalty case

Imo

 

[margarita25]

“He allegedly walked through an unlocked door at about 9:45 a.m., armed with a Colt AR-15 rifle and three Glock .357 pistols — all four of which fired, police said, as he moved around the large building, screaming about Jews.

“There were casings everywhere,” said Allegheny County chief medical examiner Karl Williams, whose team spent Saturday night inside the synagogue identifying the dead.

“This is the most horrific crime scene I’ve seen in 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said Robert Jones, the FBI special agent in charge of the case.“

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: Documents detail massacre and name the dead - The Washington Post

——

So if he was screaming about Jews while he was shooting them, some likely died knowing they were targeted for being Jews. That the Holocaust never really ended, metaphorically speaking.

I await to hear about these victims lives. Who they were. Did anyone escape from the Holocaust and which ones lost family under Hitler.

 

[Cryptic]

I no longer rely on the SPLC to define who is a hate group.

As a side note, neither does the US military.

After some army instructors used SPLC sources to make presentations that listed Evangelicals and conservative Catholics as hate groups (US military members cannot belong to designated hate groups), the military de- listed the SPLC as an objective source.

Though the SPLC never directly said that either group was a hate groups (anti gay), they did have material on their website that could be confused as giving a blanket statement. With that in mind, the Army de-listed them.

 

[x_files]

I agree with you.
I believe the lack of belief in a higher power, of possible eternal punishment by that higher power has caused many of the crimes you and I are alluding to.. Too many to list now but we know, we remember.

You may not feel this way, but I remember being a child of the 60's and wanting to do good because " God can see me all the time".
I never gave up that belief. It's part of who I am.

I wanted to do good because it made me feel good. I would get physically ill if I witnessed violence or others bullied.

Psychopaths won't stop because of a fear of an unknown god. They don't believe and if they do they simply don't care, this would only work on those that have a conscience, to begin with.
Psychopaths need to be taught empathy because they don't fear punishment nor eternal flames of hell.

 

[kimlynn]

I agree with you.
I believe the lack of belief in a higher power, of possible eternal punishment by that higher power has caused many of the crimes you and I are alluding to.. Too many to list now but we know, we remember.

You may not feel this way, but I remember being a child of the 60's and wanting to do good because " God can see me all the time".
I never gave up that belief. It's part of who I am.

Being raised without a certain religious belief doesn't make a person more prone to violence or criminal behavior and I think it's offensive to suggest that it does. IMO
My thoughts are with the victims and their families.

 

[x_files]

For most mass shootings I agree, but this one. My heart is heavy and my feeling is -- there is more to come. I don't want to be political, because this is not a political forum. So I will leave with this definition.

stochastic terrorism

1. The use of mass, public communication, usually against a particular individual or group, which incites or inspires acts of terrorism which are statistically probable but happen seemingly at random.

excellent post the root of the recent hate crime outbreak in America.
Hate Speech on social media manifesting into Hate Crimes.

 

[margarita25]

As a side note, neither does the US military.

After some army instructors used SPLC sources to make presentations that listed Evangelicals and conservative Catholics as hate groups (US military members cannot belong to designated hate groups), the military de- listed the SPLC as an objective source.

Though the SPLC never directly said that either group was a hate groups (anti gay), they did have material on their website that could be confused as giving a blanket statement. With that in mind, the Army de-listed them.

( I found this:

Department of Defense Purges SPLC Information from its Training Material )

 

[cybervampira]

If a police SWAT team couldn't stop him immediately, what makes you think a minimum wage security guard could have?

Not my personal view. I quoted Donald Trump.

 

[Anance]

Even proudly standing beside him to have their photo taken with him? Doesnt he have millions of followers? If so I think that is so revealing as to how many truly must harbor hatred for the Jewish people. It blows my mind even thinking about it.

I still have no clue why anyone would have such an extreme hatred for all Jewish people.

All the haters probably dont even know the people they proudly proclaim they have such hatred toward.

I have known many Jewish families in my life and I find them very hard working... kind..devout faith with close knit families. There is much to be admired imo.

That is why the blanket hatred of them all will never make any logical sense to me. Why??

I highly doubt any Jewish person had ever done one thing unkind toward this evil hate filled murderer.

It's terrible we have anti semitic haters of any kind toward them simply because they are Jewish.

B/c anti-semitism is an "off-the-shelf hate kit" with a long background, easy shorthand, known dog whistles. Hate mongers can deploy it easily and find a ready market for followers. I think of it as a fill-in-the numbers thing - Rich Jewish bogeyman - George Soros ✔, plot to destroy America - caravan ✔, cartoons of the evil jew - ✔, aryan/white appeal - ✔. Adapt to specific circumstances.

As a good websleuther - ask yourself, who benefits? Cui bono.