Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack that took place at the Tree of Life â Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Hadash, which also worshipped in the building, was attacked during Shabbat morning services on October 27, 2018. The perpetrator killed eleven people and wounded six, including several Holocaust survivors. It was the deadliest attack on any Jewish community in the United States.
| Pittsburgh synagogue shooting | |
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People visit the memorials to victims of the mass shooting outside the Tree of Life synagogue on November 4, 2018
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| Location | Tree of Life â Or L'Simcha Congregation, 5898 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°26â˛37âłN 79°55â˛17âłW |
| Date | October 27, 2018 9:54 â 11:08 a.m. (EDT) |
| Target | Tree of Life â Or L'Simcha Congregation |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, domestic terrorism, hate crime, right-wing terrorism |
| Weapons |
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| Deaths | 11 |
| Injured | 7 (including the perpetrator) |
| Perpetrator | Robert Gregory Bowers |
| Motive | Antisemitism, belief in the white genocide conspiracy theory |
| Verdict | Federal: Guilty on all counts |
| Convictions | 63 federal criminal counts |
| Charges | 36 state criminal counts |
| Sentence | Federal: Death |
The perpetrator, identified as 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers, was shot multiple times by police and arrested at the scene. Bowers had earlier posted antisemitic comments against HIAS (formerly, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) on the online alt-tech social network Gab. Dor Hadash had participated in HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat the previous week. Referring to Central American migrant caravans and immigrants, Bowers posted a message on Gab in which he wrote that "HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in." He was charged with 63 federal crimes, some of which are capital crimes. He pleaded not guilty. On June 16, 2023, he was found guilty on all federal counts, and on August 3, 2023, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. He separately faces 36 charges in Pennsylvania state court.