Mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue

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Cecil and David Rosenthal, the brothers killed in the Pittsburgh shooting, were members of ACHIEVA, a center in Pittsburgh for the disabled, and were recipients of the center’s residential and employment services.

“Cecil’s laugh was infectious. David was so kind and had such a gentle spirit,” said Chris Schopf, ACHIEVA’s Vice President of Residential Support.

Brothers David Rosenthal (left) and Cecil Rosenthal were killed in the shooting on Saturday.

Bernice and Sylvan Simon, the elderly married couple killed on Saturday, were “kind, generous and good-hearted individuals,” their neighbor Jo Stepaniak said.

Bernice, 84, and Sylvan, 86, were from Wilkinsburg and had lived next door to Stepaniak for close to 40 years.

They were the “sweetest people you could imagine,” Stepaniak said.

“They wanted to give back to people and be kind. They always tried to look on the good side and help out in the community, here and in the Jewish community. They were loving and giving and kind, gracious and dignified,” she said.

“These are two people who should be memorialized,” Stepaniak said. “I want to focus on them.”

Jerry Rabinowitz, a 66-year-old victim of the synagogue shooting, was a primary care physician in Pittsburgh for many years.

“He was a kind, joyful man. I always enjoyed sharing patients with him because he liked to teach and did it with a smile,” said Dr. Adam Rothschild, who worked with Rabinowitz during his residency. “We were both active in our synagogues and we always had a lot to talk about.”

Rabinowitz’s nephew, Avishai Ostrin, posted a tribute to his uncle on Facebook and focused on his smile and his fondness for bowties.

Jerry Rabinowitz, a primary care physician, was one of 11 people killed in the shooting at Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday.

Tim Hindes sat down shortly after the shooting and began to doodle a revamped Pittsburgh Steelers logo, with the Star of David substituting for the team’s yellow star-like design. It’s paired with the phrase “Stronger than Hate.”

The image has quickly become a symbol of solidarity and strength after the deadly attack.

Hindes said he was inspired by the shooting and by a friend being the victim of anti-Semitic comments a few days ago.

“Collectively, those events … drove me to make a message,” Hindes told CNN. “I wanted it to be of resiliency and hope. It was private at first, but friends urged me to make the post public, as it resonated with them.”

In a Facebook post, Hindes explained what the symbol meant to him.

“Before it was the logo of a globally popular football team, the three diamonds were the seal of a product which helped develop the foundation of many cities across the globe – steel. Like Pittsburgh and its residents, steel is strong,” he posted to Facebook.

Hindes said he doesn’t want credit or accolades for the picture.

“Use it. Share it. This is an image for Pittsburgh and those who love Pittsburgh,” he said.

Shay Khatiri woke up on his Jewish friend’s couch to the devastating news. A mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue had left 11 people dead and several others injured.

“She told me what happened and she was just broken,” Khatiri told CNN. “Seeing how upset she was, I wanted to donate to the congregation.”

But Khatiri, a 29-year-old Iranian immigrant and graduate student in Washington, DC, didn’t have much to give.

“I thought to myself, I could donate $18 or $36 – something like that. But that wouldn’t make a huge impact,” he said. “If I did something like this, maybe it could go viral and have a huge impact,” he added.

By “this,” he meant “start a GoFundMe campaign.” So far, it’s raised more than $300,000.

You can read more at the link below:

Related article Inspired by his Jewish friend, an Iranian immigrant creates a GoFundme campaign after the synagogue attack

Investigators have finished their search of the shooting suspect’s car, according to an FBI spokeswoman.

FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Bob Jones had said at a news conference Sunday morning that authorities were planning to search the vehicle, and that they had already searched Robert Bowers’ house in Baldwin Saturday. 

Investigators continue Sunday afternoon to search for surveillance video that could be helpful in piecing together the moments before and during the attack, the spokeswoman said.

On Sunday morning, Jones did not say that investigators had recovered any video.

“We’re attempting to see if there were surveillance cameras in position where we could capture footage, but we’ll look at the neighborhood and try to find everything we can,” he said.

FBI evidence response teams from multiple field offices are continuing to work at the synagogue. Jones described it as a “large, complex crime scene” that could take up to a week to process.

The FBI would not discuss anything recovered from the search warrants executed at Bowers’ home or vehicle.

A robot took part in last night’s federal law enforcement search at the last known address of synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers.

Shannon Haldeman of the local non-profit organization Scent with Love delivered flowers to the Tree of Life synagogue on Sunday and took a photo of the growing memorial outside the site of the shooting.

Haldeman told CNN that Scent with Love picks up flowers from wedding and events and delivers them to places in need around Pittsburgh.

“These arrangements were picked up from two different weddings last evening by myself and my volunteers and we delivered them this morning,” Haldeman said. 

Rose Mallinger may have been 97 years old, but she was still “spry” and “vibrant,” said Tree of Life member Robin Friedman.

Mallinger was the oldest victim in the shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday. She had been a secretary at the synagogue’s school office decades ago, and she regularly attended Tree of Life services with her daughter.

“She was just the sweetest. A lovely lady,” Friedman said. “She had to know everybody there, (whether) old, young. Always a hello, always a hug, always a smile.”

Friedman also said that Cecil and David Rosenthal were a constant presence at the Tree of Life synagogue.

“They lived and died there. They came to everything. Sports nights, annual meetings. They were always there in suit and tie,” she said. “They won multiple awards and citations for their devotion, for their generosity of their time, for their volunteerism, anything you asked them to do.”

Jerry Rabinowitz, one of the victims of the shooting, was a family doctor in the community. He had treated Susan Blackman and her three kids, Blackman told CNN.

“I can’t imagine the world without him,” she said.

“He was like a member of the family, a member of the extended family,” she said. “Dr. Jerry was just somebody who, when you see him, your eyes light up.”

Suzan Hauptman said that she got to know Rabinowitz when he treated her father.

“He wasn’t just my dad’s doctor, he was there for me, he was there for my mom, my brother. He was our doctor too,” she said. “He just did it all.”

Cecil and David Rosenthal, brothers who died in the shooting, both always greeted people when they came in to worship, Hauptman said.

“They were like the ambassadors because they were always there,” she said. “And they will always be there in our hearts.”

Suzan Hauptman (right) spoke to CNN's Sara Sidner about her friends who were killed in the shooting.

Laura Berman, a cantor at nearby Temple Sinai, said that she grew up in Pittsburgh but then moved away. When she moved back to Pittsburgh, Cecil was a reminder that she was home.

“He was always just a sweet, sweet gentle soul who was friendly to everybody, helpful to everybody,” she said.

Cecil, with an ever-smiling face, was the kindest soul you would ever meet, Berman said.

“He was one of those embodiments of the community. Just open, warm, smiling, wanting to help, and just in his beautiful simplicity, that’s who he was,” she said.

Passers-by at the Western Wall in Jerusalem reacted Sunday to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting with sadness and support for the victims.

Aviv Herzlich, tour guide: “I was shocked to hear the news. I always had this illusion that Jews in America can feel safe. Actually we were jealous in Israel to see the successful and safe communities in the States and now it seems that all over the world Jews are not so safe, apparently also in America.

Israel Rosenberg: “We are all one nation and what makes us different is that we are really one spirit together. We are one soul so when someone gets hurt in America, everyone in Israel feels it into their soul because we are one connected soul.”

Yafit Dana, from Tel Aviv: “It was very unfortunate to hear the news, it was very sad to hear that you have anti-Semitism still in the US these days.”

Yafit Dana, from Tel Aviv, Israel, spoke to CNN at Jerusalem's Western Wall on Sunday.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto was asked if, in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, it was time to talk about removing guns from American society.

“We’re dealing with irrational behavior. There is no way that you can rationalize a person walking into a synagogue during services and taking the lives of 11 people,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be trying to find ways to minimize the dangers that occur from irrational behavior. We should be working to eliminate irrational behavior and the empowerment of people who would seek to cause this type of carnage from continuing.

Watch his comments below:

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.”

Karl Williams, chief medical examiner for Allegheny County, provided the ages, names and locations of the 11 people killed in Saturday’s shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The victims were between 54 and 97 years old and included a pair of brothers and a married couple.

Investigators believe the suspected Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, Robert Bowers, acted alone in Saturday’s attack that killed 11 people, according to Robert Jones with the FBI.

Jones says there is no evidence to suggest Bowers had an accomplice.

Investigators recovered three Glock handguns and an AR-15 assault rifle at the Tree of Life synagogue, US Attorney Scott Brady said.

Bowers is accused of killing 11 people and injuring two in his shooting spree at the synagogue. In addition, four police officers responding to the scene were injured during the exchange of gunfire.

Jones praised as heroic the actions of police and SWAT officers who responded.

“Had he made it out of that facility, there is a strong possibility that additional violence would have occurred,” he said.

Bowers is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

A uniquely Pittsburgh symbol of solidarity and strength is making its way around the internet in the aftermath of Saturday’s deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The image is a revamped Pittsburgh Steelers logo, with the Star of David substituting for the team’s yellow star-like design. It’s paired with the phrase “Stronger than Hate.”

The Steelers host the Cleveland Browns at 1 p.m. ET today, and Steelers President Art Rooney II said that there will be a moment of silence and prayer prior to the game.

“Our hearts are heavy, but we must stand against anti-Semitism and hate crimes of any nature and come together to preserve our values and our community,” Rooney said.

The Pittsburgh synagogue suspect told a SWAT officer that he wanted all Jews to die and that Jews were committing genocide to his people, according a police criminal complaint filed Saturday evening.

Robert Bowers faces 11 counts of criminal homicide, six counts of attempted homicide and six counts of aggravated assault.

He killed 11 people – 3 women and 8 men – before he was wounded in a shootout with SWAT officers and taken into custody, the complaint states.

Just 3 months ago, the Pittsburgh synagogue’s rabbi lamented gun violence and failure to tackle it.

Tree of Life Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers wrote: “Despite continuous calls for sensible gun control and mental health care, our elected leaders in Washington knew that it would fade away in time,” His blog post was entitled “We Deserve Better.”

Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers

Related article Just 3 months ago, the synagogue's rabbi lamented gun violence and failure of lawmakers to tackle it

The names of the deceased victims in the synagogue shooting will be released at 9 a.m. ET Sunday, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto told CNN’s Wolf Bitzer.

The mayor said there was “really strong insistence by the FBI that we identify everybody with 100% accuracy before giving out any information, for the families’ sake.”

Perduto also said security was being tightened at Islamic centers and any other group that “would feel insecure or would need additional security.”

Eleven people were killed and six people were injured when a gunman entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, officials said.

The suspect was taken into custody.

Crowds gathered at the intersection of Murray Avenue and Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh for a vigil that was held at Sixth Presbyterian Church, located in the same neighborhood as Tree of Life synagogue.