RED FLAGS

Poway Synagogue Killer Showed Off White Supremacist Gear to Classmates

But John T. Earnest was investigated, and then let off the hook, by university officials and police.

A new report from the San Diego Union-Tribune raises questions about whether authorities could have done more to stop John Timothy Earnest’s deadly attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue during Passover in 2019. Earnest was recently sentenced to life in prison without parole for opened fire on the synagogue, killing one and injuring three. His classmates at Cal State San Marcos reportedly issued an alarm to higher-ups at the university when Earnest, now 22, showed off white supremacist paraphernalia, research on Hitler, and his copy of a the New Zealander mosque killer’s manifesto.

Police investigated him at the time but it was dismissed because he didn’t make a threat or display any acts of violence, according to court filings. University spokeswoman Margaret Chantung told the Union-Tribune that, generally, an experienced campus team and university police review such cases for “indicators/evidence that someone is planning or preparing to act out inappropriately; or has the potential to hurt themselves or others.” The team usually recommends steps for “behavioral intervention if it’s warranted” but it’s unclear why Earnest was let off the hook at the time.