AGAIN
One Dead, Three Injured in Shooting at San Diego Area Synagogue
Officials are calling the incident a “hate crime” based on “statements the shooter made when he entered.”
Denis Poroy
A 19-year-old man armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire on a suburban San Diego synagogue Saturday morning, killing at least one person and injuring three others, including one child, in a mass shooting that the mayor has called a “hate crime.”
The San Diego Sheriff's Office said they have the San Diego man in custody and “we don’t believe there are any other suspects.” The man was being questioned by investigators Saturday afternoon. The man has been reportedly identified as John T. Earnest, according to local CBS and NBC affiliates.
The shooting took place around 11:30 a.m. PST, at the Chabad of Poway, a 33-year-old synagogue in a town of about 50,000 people located just northeast of San Diego.
During a press conference, Sheriff William Dore said the suspect, was carrying an “AR-type assault weapon and opened fire” after he entered the synagogue, striking four people, including a woman who was killed, two men who are in stable condition and a child.
Earnest was arrested without incident by San Diego police as he was fleeing the scene, Chief David Nisleit said.
A San Diego police officer on route to the scene overheard on the California Highway Patrol scanner that a suspect who had allegedly called 911 to report that he was just involved in this shooting and his location, Nisleit said.
As the officer was exiting the freeway, he clearly saw the suspect in his car, Nisleir said. “The suspect pulled over jumped out of his car with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody,” he said. “As the officer was placing this 19-year-old male into custody he clearly saw a rifle sitting on the front passenger's seat of the suspect vehicle.”
The local FBI and ATF offices in San Diego said agents are working with local officials on the investigation.
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, speaking on CNN, called the attack a “hate crime” based on “statements the shooter made when he entered” the building.
“I also understand from folks on the scene that this shooter was engaged by people in the congregation and those brave people certainly prevented this from being a much worse tragedy,” he said.
Dore said police have copies of the suspect’s social media posts and an alleged hate-filled open letter he wrote right before the shooting, which would be reviewed “to determine the legitimacy of it and determine how exactly it plays into the investigation.”
The open letter is apparently a manifesto reviewed by The Daily Beast that was created before the attack and whose writer identifies himself as Earnest. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office declined to provide any additional details about the open letter.
The manifesto was first shared on the toxic trolling board 8chan shortly before the suspect opened fire. It contains apparent misinformation and is clearly meant to be found and disseminated. (It uses the same question-and-answer format of the manifesto of the terrorist who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.)
The writer identifies himself as a Christian of European descent. While he eschews political labels, the writer repeats a far-right accusation that Jews seek to destroy the white race through immigration of non-whites. It is the same purported motive given by the man who allegedly killed 11 Jews at a Pittsburgh synagogue last October.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, President Donald Trump expressed his “deepest sympathies” to the Poway congregation and “the people that were affected” in what “obviously... looks like a hate crime.”
“We are doing some very heavy research and we will see what comes up but it looks like a hate crime,” Trump said before heading to Wisconsin for a rally in protest of the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner. “Hard to believe, hard to believe.”
CNN reported that one of the victims is Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein who was conducting service at the time and was reportedly shot in the hand. His condition is unknown at this time. A Palomar Medical Center spokesman confirmed to The New York Times that the rabbi is among those being treated.
The Chabad center was founded in 1986 as a congregation “for Jews of all backgrounds who want to learn more about their Jewish roots,” according to their website.
The shooting comes on the last day of Passover. According to the event announcement on the synagogue’s website, they were hosting a Passover Holiday Celebration that began at 11 a.m. and was set to end at 7 p.m. with a final Passover meal.
The shooting falls exactly six months after Robert Bowers, 46, allegedly entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh just after 10 a.m, reportedly shouting “all Jews must die” before opening fire and killing 11 people.
— With additional reporting by Justin Miller