Pittsburgh sources stated that a heavily armed gunman opened fire during a baby naming ceremony at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh on Saturday, killing 11 people and injuring six in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in recent American history. Reportedly the shooter identified as a 46 year old local resident named Robert Bowers yelled "All Jews must die" as he burst into the Tree of Life synagogue, where dozens of congregants were gathered in the morning for Sabbath services.
Meanwhile the suspect was transferred to hospital and is to face hate crime and other federal charges that can carry the death penalty. Furthermore after striking an unusually somber tone, President Donald Trump denounced "a wicked act of mass murder," while his daughter Ivanka, a convert to Judaism, declared "America is stronger than the acts of a depraved bigot and anti-Semite."
Accordingly "This evil Anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us," Trump told supporters at an election rally in Illinois where he began by addressing the attack at length drawing loud cheers as he vowed to fully enforce the death penalty for such crimes. Moreover Trump said he would soon travel to the stricken Pennsylvania city where hundreds of residents gathered late Saturday for a candlelit vigil. Further the attack drew swift condemnation and messages of solidarity from world leaders, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring himself "heartbroken and appalled."
