The perpetrator, 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers,[7] was shot multiple times by police and arrested at the scene.[8] Bowers had earlier posted antisemitic comments againstHIAS (formerly, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) on the onlinealt-tech social networkGab.[9][10][11] Dor Hadash[12] had participated in HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat the previous week. Referring toCentral American migrant caravans andimmigrants, 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."[13] He was charged with 63 federal crimes, some of themcapital crimes.[8] Bowers pleaded not guilty.[8] In 2023, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death by lethal injection.[14]
Originally founded as anOrthodox Jewish congregation in 1864 in downtown Pittsburgh, by an early group of Jewish immigrants, Tree of Life merged in 2010 with the recently founded Congregation Or L'Simcha.[20] The modern synagogue building, located at the intersection of Wilkins and Shady avenues in Squirrel Hill, was built in 1953. The congregation also rents space to Dor Hadash,[c] aReconstructionist congregation; and New Light, another Conservative congregation.[21][22][23] The synagogue's mainsanctuary has a capacity of 1,250 people.[24]
This 2018 mass shooting took place soon afterColumbia University and theAnti-Defamation League independently reported a spike in antisemitic activity online, especially on the popular social networking platformsInstagram andTwitter.[26][27][28][29] In addition, other antisemitic acts had been committed elsewhere.[30]
The immediate rise in the months of August to October 2018 was attributed to rising tensions associated with advertising for the2018 U.S. midterm elections.[31] A similar rise in online attacks had occurred during the2016 US election,[26] with the midterms being a "rallying point" for far-right extremists to organize efforts to spread antisemitism online among the populace.[27] In 2017, there was a 57% rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States,[29][28] in context of rising hate crimes against other groups, includingMuslims andAfrican Americans, as reported by the FBI.[29] For instance, hundreds of Jewish gravestones were vandalized in Pennsylvania and Missouri,[27] and antisemitic incidents on university campuses doubled in number.[30]
In August 2017, the widely publicizedUnite the Right rally inCharlottesville, Virginia featuredNazi symbols,salutes, and the slogan "Blood and Soil",[30] among other racist and antisemitic rhetoric. Considerable antisemitic material was being spread online viaconspiracy theories about wealthy Jewish individuals, including billionaireGeorge Soros. Columbia University's Jon Albright said that these represented the "worst sample" of all the hate speech he had seen on Instagram.[26]
At 9:45 a.m.EDT (13:45UTC), three religious services were underway in the Tree of Life synagogue, which housed three distinct congregations. Tree of Life and New Light had both begun independent Shabbatmorning service in the Pervin Chapel[32] and basement, respectively. The Dor Hadash congregants were gathered near the front of the building, prior to their 10:00 a.m.Torah study session.[33] At around the same time, a car belonging to the gunman was parked in front of the synagogue in adisabled parking space. The car was loaded with five guns, including a Mossberg shotgun that was left in the car, hearing protection, three shooting glasses, a large green bag containing ammunition for both the rifle and shotgun, and ammunition for the Glock pistols.[34] The shooter accessed the website Gab on his phone and posted a final post on his profile at 9:49 a.m.[citation needed]
Five minutes later, a gunman, identified as Robert Bowers and described as a "bearded heavy-set white male", opened fire, entered the building, and was "shooting for about 20 minutes."[35] He was armed with aColt AR-15semi-automatic rifle (cited by authorities as an "assault rifle")[2] and threeGlock.357 SIGsemi-automatic pistols. He was dressed in a large red/gray windbreaker over a smaller grey jacket, blue jeans, white sneakers, a light blue shirt, and had a smaller pouch of ammunition on him. Evidence recovered from the scene determined he only fired the Colt rifle and the Glock 31 during the shooting. He also carried several magazines for the rifle and his three Glock handguns: one 40-round .223 magazine, two 20-round .223 magazines, five 15-round .357 magazines, one 13-round .357 magazine, and one 9-round .357 magazine.[6][36][16][37][34][excessive citations] There would typically be around 75 people in the building on a Saturday morning, but on the day of the shooting, only 22 people were present.[32]
When Bowers got out of his car, he opened fire at a window of the synagogue. Several people in the synagogue heard the first shots. Some hearing the shots did not initially recognize them for what they were: Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, located upstairs, thought a coat rack had fallen and clattered.[38] Bowers entered the synagogue through the shattered window and encountered his first two victims: Jerry Rabinowitz of Dor Hadash and Daniel Leger. Both men had a background in medical work. They both ran downstairs from the lobby to investigate the gunshots and check to see if anyone was hurt. Bowers shot Rabinowitz to death at the lower mezzanine before shooting Leger in the abdomen. Leger fell on the stairs and laid there bleeding before being rescued 45 minutes later. Just after Rabinowitz and Leger ran downstairs, Irving Younger and Cecil Rosenthal left the Pervin Chapel and went downstairs to investigate the gunshots. Younger was able to reach the lower mezzanine only to be fatally shot by Bowers. He shouted Rosenthal's name before dying. Cecil Rosenthal ran back upstairs and tried running into the Pervin Chapel. Bowers quickly followed Rosenthal and shot him to death just as he reached a doorway to the chapel. Just after entering the chapel, Bowers shot Sylvan Simon, who was next to his wife, in the back before leaving the chapel. By 9:54, police began receiving multiple calls from people barricaded in the building and reporting the attack. The first 911 call was made by Sylvan Simon's wife, Bernice, to report that her husband had been shot at the synagogue.[39][40][41][42]
When the shooting started, Audrey Glickman, Joseph Charny, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, and David Rosenthal ran to the front of the Pervin Chapel. They decided to hide in an area above the Pervin Chapel. Rosenthal was under distress and exclaimed that he wanted to "go home". Glickman tried stopping him, but to no avail. Rosenthal ran back to the chapel. The other three parted ways with Myers hiding in a bathroom and Glickman and Charny hiding in a clothing donation room. When Bowers was about to go to the basement leading to New Light's service, he encountered David Rosenthal and Joyce Fienberg on the stairs leading to the lower mezzanine. Both of them had accidentally ran into Bowers as they were trying to escape. He shot both of them to death.[42][43]
At 9:55,[44] Melvin Wax, the leader of New Light's services, hid in a pitch-black closet in the storage hallway of the basement along with three other people, including Rabbi Jonathan Perlman who lead the congregants to the closet. Around the same time, two other members of New Light, Richard Gottfried and Daniel Stein hid in the basement kitchen. Gottfried made a 911 call at 9:55 which lasted until 9:56.[32] When Bowers reached the basement, he approached the kitchen. In the kitchen, he fired at both Gottfried and Stein through thekitchen island, killing them both. In an interview with a psychologist after the shooting, Bowers referred back to that moment and remarked about how "ironic" it was that he killed both men in front of the ovens of the kitchen.[45] Bowers went back to the main sermon room of the basement and approached the storage hallway. Still unaware of what was happening despite Perlman begging him not to do it, Wax opened the door of the closet and Bowers immediately shot him twice at point-blank range.[46] The latter did not notice the other three congregants who remained in the closet. Just after Bowers shot Wax, one of the congregants called 911 at 9:58. At 9:58,[44] Bowers left the basement and headed back upstairs to go back to his car. Just as he reached the entrance doors, he encountered two police officers at the other side. Bowers immediately opened fire, hitting one of the officers in the hand and injuring the other with shrapnel to the head at 9:58:52 a.m.[47]
Bowers ran back into the mezzanine and went upstairs to target the worshippers at the Pervin Chapel again. He began firing shots at them at 10:01:18 a.m. As Bowers reentered the Pervin Chapel, he approached Andrea Wedner and her mother, Rose Mallinger. Wedner was on the phone with police as Bowers returned to the chapel. Bowers shot both women, killing Mallinger and wounding Wedner with a shot to her right arm.[48] The officer who was injured in the head walked along the synagogue and was able to see Bowers again through a lobby window. Seeing Bowers at the doorway of the Pervin Chapel, he fired five times through the window at Bowers. Bowers fired back at the officer at 10:01:35 a.m. Neither of them hit each other during the brieffirefight. Bowers approached the Simons again. During that moment, Bernice was still calling 911 while hugging her now-deceased husband. Bowers shot Bernice to death and shot Sylvan again. The 911 operator on the other end recalled hearing Bernice's agonal breathing. The death of Bernice Simon was recorded at 10:01:48 a.m.[42][49] When the shooting began, 12 worshippers had gathered for the Shabbat service in the Pervin Chapel. Rabbi Myers helped three of them evacuate the chapel safely. Four of the worshippers left the chapel by themselves, only to be killed by Bowers outside, while four other worshippers remained in the chapel, only to be shot. Out of the 12 worshippers, Bowers shot 8 of them, killing 7 and wounding 1. The 13th worshipper only arrived late while the police was responding to the shooting.[32][50][51] Police sources said Bowers shouted at some point during the attack, "All Jews must die!"[39][52]
About a half-hour later, tactical teams entered the building. They searched the rooms of the synagogue looking for the shooter.[40] Eventually, at 10:53, several officers entered a classroom on the top floor of the synagogue. Bowers opened fire with his rifle and Glock 31, and shot two SWAT members. At the same time, the SWAT team fired shots at Bowers in the dark classroom. Two minutes later, officers engaged in another firefight with Bowers, who was using his Glock handgun because he had no ammunition left for the rifle.[53] He had wounded two officers and twoSWAT members, one of them critically.[54] At 11:08, Bowers crawled out of the room and surrendered, having been shot multiple times.[55] As he received medical care in police custody, he allegedly told a SWAT officer that he wanted Jews to die and that Jews were committing genocide against his people.[56] He was searched for weapons and police recovered two unused, loaded Glock handguns that were recovered from a waist holster and ankle holster, and three 15-round .357 magazines. He was also questioned about leaving a clock in the hallway in which Bowers told them that the object was a "Screaming Meanie" trucker alarm clock.[57]
Bowers discharged his rifle 75 times and discharged the Glock 31 17 times during the shooting.[58]
Eleven people were killed,[59][60][61] including four on the ground level, four in the Pervin Chapel, and three in the synagogue's basement.[62] All of the victims were killed with the Colt rifle. Among the dead were two brothers and a married couple.[35][63]Those killed were:
Joyce Fienberg, 75, a retired University of Pittsburgh research specialist
Richard Gottfried, 65, a dentist
Rose Mallinger, 97, an active congregant at the synagogue for more than 60 years
Jerry Rabinowitz, 65, a family physician
Cecil, 59 & David Rosenthal, 54, brothers who lived together at a community home for people with disabilities
Bernice, 84 & Sylvan Simon, 86, a retired couple who celebrated their wedding at Tree of Life in 1956
Daniel Stein, 71, a retired salesman and substitute school teacher
Melvin Wax, 87, a retired accountant who was leading services at the time of the shooting
Irving Younger, 69, a retired real estate company owner, who served as a greeter at the synagogue
Seven others were injured in the incident, with four requiring surgery.[64] Among the injured were three congregants and four police officers (two patrol officers and two SWAT officers; three by ricocheted gunfire and a fourth by glass fragments).[32]
Robert Bowers (born September 4, 1972),[65] a resident ofBaldwin, Pennsylvania, was arrested as the shooter.[66][67][68] Bowers' parents divorced when he was about one year old.[69] When Bowers was seven years old, his father, Randall G. Bowers of the Pittsburgh neighborhood ofGarfield, died by suicide on October 15, 1979 at the age of 26 inTionesta, Pennsylvania while he was awaiting trial on a rape charge in connection with an April 27, 1979 rape of a 20-year-old woman inSquirrel Hill.[69][70][71] Bowers attendedBaldwin High School in theBaldwin-Whitehall School District from August 1986 to November 1989. He dropped out of high school before graduation and worked as atrucker for 13 years until 2002.[72][73] Neighbors described Bowers as "a ghost" who rarely interacted with others.[66]
According to accounts which were given by Bowers' coworkers, and analysis of his recentsocial media posts, hisconservatism became radicalized aswhite nationalism; at one point in the late-1990s, Bowers was fascinated by the right-wing radio hostJim Quinn.[74] At a later time, he became a follower of "aggressive online provocateurs of the right wing's fringe."[75] He was deeply involved in posting comments on social media websites such asGab and he also promotedantisemitic conspiracy theories on them.[76] Bowers routinely discussed a conspiracy theory that Jews were assisting "evilMuslims" to take over the United States together.[77]
In the weeks before the shooting, Bowers made antisemitic posts directed at theHIAS-sponsored[10][11] National Refugee Shabbat[78] of October 19–20, in which Dor Hadash[12] participated. He claimed Jews were aiding members ofCentral American caravans moving toward the United States border and referred to those migrants as "invaders".[9] Shortly before the attack, he posted on Gab 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."[60][79][68]
On the morning of the massacre, at 8:57 a.m., Bowers booted up his customLinux-based computer. He set up several commands to start a process that would wipe the data of his sixhard drives after a 200-minute countdown. The process involved using a "blkdiscard" command on one of his hard drives before shredding the first 8 gigabytes of the five other hard drives. By the time the FBI raided his home, the 200-minute countdown was already over and 2terabytes of data from his computer were permanently lost. Before the shooting, Bowers also wiped most of the data on his cellphone, which the FBI couldn't recover.[80][81][82]
Bowers appeared infederal court in Pittsburgh on October 29, 2018, and was orderedheld without bail pending trial.[84] Two days later, Bowers wasindicted on 44 counts by afederal grand jury. The charges carry a maximumpenalty of death or 535 years in federal prison.[85] The counts includedhate crimes,[86] 11 counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, 11 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence, four counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.[35][83][87][88] On November 1, 2018, Bowers entered a plea of not guilty.[89]
On January 29, 2019, the grand jury indicted Bowers on an additional 19 counts, 13 of which were for hate crimes.[90] On February 11, 2019, Bowers wasarraigned in federal court.[8]
Bowers's defense team includes two public defenders plus well-knowncriminal defense attorneyJudy Clarke, a death penalty expert who was appointed by the court as co-counsel for the defendant.[8][91] The defense offered a plea deal in which Bowers would plead guilty in exchange for a sentence oflife imprisonment without parole; federal prosecutors declined, seeking thedeath penalty instead.[91][92][93]
The trial date was not set until various pretrial motions were resolved.[93][94] In April 2020, Senior U.S. District JudgeDonetta Ambrose denied a defense challenge to the federal death penalty.[91] In October 2020, Judge Ambrose denied a defense motion to dismiss charges brought under theHate Crimes Prevention Act andChurch Arson Prevention Act.[91] In November 2021, the defense decided that it would not pursue aninsanity defense or intellectual disability defense.[95] In January 2022, after holding an earlier evidentiary hearing, Judge Ambrose denied Bowers'smotion to suppress evidence of statements he made after being arrested by police, inside an ambulance, and at the hospital the day of the attack.[96]
After Judge Ambrose retired in February 2022, the case was randomly reassigned to U.S. District JudgeRobert J. Colville.[97] In March 2022, Colville denied Bowers's motion for achange of venue.[98]
In September 2022, Judge Colville set the trial to begin in April 2023, rejecting a bid by the defense to delay the trial until December 2023.[99] In March 2023, members of thejury pool began completing questionnaires.[100] Thejury selection process began on April 24 with twelve jurors and six alternates being selected.[101][102]
The trial began May 30, 2023.[103][104] Prosecutors called sixty witnesses, while the defense did not call any witnesses.[105] The witnesses who testified included survivors of the attack, including congregants and Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.[105] Evidence presented to the jury included recordings of9-1-1 calls as the attacks unfolded (including from some of the people killed), and testimony from police officers who ultimately subdued the gunman; from expert witnesses on medicine, guns, and computers; from the FBI agents and police detectives who investigated the case; from a paramedic who responded to the scene; and from the director of the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office.[105][106] Photographs were also introduced as evidence,[105] including photos of exhaustively documented bloodstains, bullet fragments, andshell casings, andpolice body-worn camera footage was also shown to the jury.[106] Bowers's antisemitic social media posts were also introduced as evidence.[107] After 11 days of testimony, prosecutors told the jury inclosing argument that Bowers had made "cold, calculated, deliberate choices" in the shooting.[107] Bowers's defense counsel conceded that he had fatally shot all the victims, but argued that there was doubt as to his specific intent: "why he did what he did and what he thought he would accomplish by doing so."[107]
On June 16, 2023, 50-year-old Bowers was found guilty on all 63 federal charges, including 11 counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death; the jury rendered its verdict after five hours of deliberation over two days.[108]
The sentencing phase began on June 16, 2023, with the jury hearing arguments to decide if Bowers should besentenced to death or life without parole. Bowers' defense lawyers sought to persuade the jury that Bowers had significant brain damage[109] and was influenced by mental illness or delusions.[110][111] By contrast, prosecutors emphasized evidence showing that Bowers had extensively planned his attack and was motivated by antisemitism,[109][110] as shown in his numerous rants on social media and statements to police after the attack.[111]
ThreeUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center physicians (two radiologists and a neurologist) testified about their review of brain-imaging tests (anEEG,PET, andMRI) of Bowers in 2021 and 2022.[109] They found the tests to be largely normal.[109][111] Two defense experts, by contrast, testified that they believed Bowers "had significant brain damage that could be correlated withschizophrenia" and could affect behavior.[109] A separate defense expert, aUniversity of North Texasforensic psychologist, testified on his opinions from 20 hours of examination of Bowers over four days in 2022. He testified that Bowers was "proud" of his attack, showed no remorse for the shooting, and thought that he deserved medals and a parade.[110] The psychologist opined that Bowers is "blatantly psychotic" and suffers from schizophrenia, but agreed on cross-examination that he was "goal-oriented" and planned the attack as much as six months in advance.[110] Separately, aneurologist who examined Bowers in 2021 testified as a defense expert, opining that Bowers had schizophrenia andepilepsy.[111] On cross-examination, the defense neurologist acknowledged that Bowers was not "incapable" of plotting the shootings, but testified that "his reasons for planning it out are unreliable in his brain."[111] The defense presented evidence of Bowers's lengthy history ofserious mental illness, including multiple suicide attempts since his teenage years, an incident in which he "threw flammable liquid on his mother and tried to ignite it" at age thirteen, and three instances ofinvoluntary commitment, the latest in 2004.[111]
At the request of the defense, the sentencing phase was split into two parts (each with its own opening statements, closing arguments and jury decision): (1) whether Bowers was eligible to be sentenced to death and (2) the selection of the sentence. On July 13, 2023, after two hours of deliberation, the jury found that Bowers was eligible for a death sentence.[112] After making further deliberation on sentence for two days, the federal jury issued a unanimous decision to sentence Bowers to the death penalty on August 2.[113] Bowers was the first and only criminal to besentenced to death by the US federal government during the presidency ofJoe Biden.[114][115] On August 3, 2023, Bowers was formally sentenced to death.[116]
Cecilia Wang of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union said the attack, along with other recent unrest, was inspired by elements of Trump's rhetoric.[125] Vice PresidentMike Pence denied any such connection in anNBC News interview that night.[126][127] Over 2,000 people, including many from the local Jewish community, protested against Trump's visit to the synagogue site, chanting "words have meaning", and carrying signs with such slogans as "We build bridges,not walls".[128]
From October 27 to 31, allU.S. flags on public and military grounds were flown athalf-staff in memory of the victims.[129]
The aftermath of the shooting included arguably the most ambitious and comprehensive effort ever taken to protect Jewish life in the United States, according to theNew York Times. In addition to bringing in $100 million in federal grants through theNonprofit Security Grant Program (NGSP), theJewish Federations of North America raised $62 million to secure every Jewish community in North America, overseen by theSecure Community Network. By 2023, 93Jewish federations had full-time security directors, a more than four-fold increase over the previous 5 years.[131]
The next year, thePennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 83 of 2019 to establish the state's Nonprofit Security Grant Fund, a state-level version of the NGSP. Initially, $5 million in grant funding was available. After an increase in antisemitism during theGaza war in 2023, the General Assembly increased the available funding to $10 million.[132] In the 5 years since its inception, the fund distributed $25 million to synagogues, mosques, and other nonprofit organizations.[133]
Carnegie Mellon University lowered the American flag tohalf-staff to mourn the victims.People gathered again at the intersection of Forbes and Murray Avenues in front of the Sixth Presbyterian Church on October 30. On the same day, Trump visited Pittsburgh in response to the shooting incident.[134]
Immediately after the shooting, the campus ofCarnegie Mellon University was placed on lockdown and all university-sponsored activities were cancelled for the day.[23] At the same time residents were advised by police to remain in their homes and stay off the streets.[62]
An unusually large proportion of the Pittsburgh Jewish community from all denominations participated in localJewish rituals related to death and mourning. Jewish tradition requires a person to guard a corpse until it is buried.Shomrim (volunteer guards) took one-hour shifts at the Pittsburgh morgue until the bodies were moved to funeral homes.The Atlantic reported that "most of the volunteers appeared to be Orthodox, but they felt strong solidarity with the liberal communities that were directly affected by the shooting."[135]
Members of thePittsburgh Steelers attended the joint funeral service for the Rosenthal brothers on Tuesday, October 30, whenNFL teams are traditionally off. The brothers, who wereintellectually disabled, had a sister who is a former employee of the team.[136]
TheEiffel Tower in Paris darkened its lights in tribute to the victims of the shooting.[139]
Israel's Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu condemned the "horrifying antisemitic brutality", adding "the whole of Israel grieves with the families of the dead."[140] Israel's education anddiaspora affairs minister,Naftali Bennett, immediately left for Pittsburgh to visit the synagogue, meet with community members, and participate in the funerals of the victims,[141] and directed the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs "to assess and prepare to assist the Pittsburgh Jewish community, 'including the need for emergency and resilience teams that immediately left Israel for psychological assistance and community rehabilitation.'"[142][143][144]Israel's cabinet stood for a moment's silence on October 28 to honor the victims.[145]
Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of IsraelDavid Lau said "any murder of any Jew in any part of the world for being Jewish is unforgivable".[146] He described the location as "a place with a profound Jewish flavor". Many news reports said he refused to refer to the Conservative congregation as a "synagogue" since it is non-Orthodox.[147] Prominent non-Orthodox Israeli religious leaders and scholars rejected his statement.[148][149][150]
Tel Aviv Municipality lit the city hall building with the colors of the American flag in solidarity with the victims of the Pittsburgh attack.[151][152] An image of the Israeli flag next to the American flag was projected onto Jerusalem'sWestern Wall.[153]
Pope Francis denounced the "inhuman act of violence" in his Sunday prayers inSt. Peter's Square on October 28, and led prayers for the dead and wounded, as well as their families. He asked God "to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies".[154]
Iranian Minister of Foreign AffairsJavad Zarif offered histhoughts and prayers to the victims of the shooting, and said "Extremism and terrorism know no race or religion, and must be condemned in all cases".[155]
Hamas offered condolences and condemned the attack, noting that they could relate as being "victims of Israeli terror". Hamas had previously expressed support for shootings at synagogues in Israel.[156][157]
Jan Kickert,AustrianPermanent Representative to the United Nations, said: "The attack ... was an attack on all of us, on what we stand for – religious liberty, human rights. We are committed to the safety and security of Jews wherever they are. I say this with growing up and living with the shame that my forefathers were among the worst perpetrators in Nazi times."[158]
On October 28, theEmpire State Building darkened its lights in honor of the victims. According to the building's Twitter account, the top of the spire was left aglow with "an orange halo shining a light on gun violence awareness".[161] In the wake of the shooting, theUniversity of Pittsburgh darkened its traditional Victory Lights atop of theCathedral of Learning,[162] and on November 2, the university altered the Victory Lights so the blue beam would shine for 11 seconds, one second for each fatality.[163]
The Pittsburgh Penguins wore jerseys with a patch that read "Stronger Than Hate" for their game against theNew York Islanders on October 30. The team announced that, following the game, the team would auction off the jerseys on behalf of the synagogue.[170] Similarly, theUniversity of Pittsburgh Panthers football team displayed a "Stronger than Hate" decal on their helmets during the November 2 game visiting theUniversity of Virginia.[171]
NFL playerTerrell Suggs wore aStar of David on his cleats during a game in October 2019 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the shooting.[172]
Pittsburgh locals crocheted or knit forms of theStar of David and hung them along Murray Avenue.
On the evening of the shooting, over 3,000 people gathered at the intersection of Murray and Forbes avenues in Squirrel Hill for an interfaithcandlelight vigil; it was organized by students from nearbyTaylor Allderdice High School.[173] Two additional vigils were held in the neighborhood.[36]
The day after the shooting, an interfaith vigil organized by the regionalJewish Federation was held atSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, drawing an overflow crowd estimated at 2,500.[174] Attended by numerous national and local dignitaries, the event featured several speakers, including the rabbis of the three congregations that occupied the synagogue building, Islamic and Christian clergy, and civic leaders.[175] Among those in attendance wereBill Peduto, mayor of Pittsburgh;Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County executive; SenatorsBob Casey andPat Toomey; GovernorTom Wolf;Naftali Bennett, Israeli Minister for Education and Minister for Diaspora Affairs;Ron Dermer, Israeli ambassador to the United States; andDanny Danon, permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations. A video was streamed during the event featuring Israeli presidentReuven Rivlin,[176] who offered brief remarks and led the crowd in a recitation of theKaddish.[177][178]
In the week following the attack, Jewish and interfaith communalvigils andsolidarity rallies were held across the world.[179][180] In the United States, these were attended by hundreds or thousands of people,[181] in many cities across the nation.[d] In Canada, they were held in Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and other places. In Israel, approximately 500 Americans and Israelis lit candles on the night of October 28 atZion Square in Jerusalem.[180] In Europe, Jewish communal vigils were held in London, Liverpool, Brighton, and Paris.[189][190]
College students at more than one hundred campuses across the country held vigils in the days following the shootings in memory of the victims.[191]
TheAmerican Jewish Committee and theJewish Federations of North America called for both Jews and non-Jews to attend synagogue services on theShabbat following the attack, under the hashtag #ShowUpForShabbat.NBC News reported thousands of people around the world attended services in local synagogues, community centers, and college campuses, including Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan.[192] Additionally, many congregations recited the prayer for martyrsAv HaRachamim even though it would normally be omitted that Shabbat.[193][194] As of 2024, the massacre is still being commemorated.[195]
On October 30, Trump flew to Pittsburgh onAir Force One, accompanied by First LadyMelania Trump, daughterIvanka Trump, son-in-lawJared Kushner, and Treasury SecretarySteven Mnuchin. They went to the synagogue, where they met with Tree of Life spiritual leader Jeffrey Myers and Israeli ambassador to the USRon Dermer. Trump lit candles for the victims inside and outside placed stones on each of the 11 Star-of-David markers of the memorial. The group went toUPMC Presbyterian Hospital, where Trump spoke with wounded victims, their families, law enforcement officials, and medical staff.[134]
Trump's visit was discouraged by some in the Pittsburgh community. Pittsburgh mayorBill Peduto said Trump should not have come, as the wounds were raw and the community was just beginning to mourn and hold funerals.[196] Peduto, with agreement fromAllegheny County executiveRich Fitzgerald, also urged Trump to consider "the wills of the families" of the deceased.[197] More than 70,000 people had signed an open letter written by Bend the Arc: Pittsburgh saying that Trump was not welcome until he "fully denounces white nationalism".[198] One of the survivors, Dan Leger, refused to meet Trump in the hospital and later wrote a critical op-ed for thePittsburgh Post-Gazette.[199] Former Tree of Life president Lynette Lederman opposed Trump's visit, saying she felt his words were "hypocritical" and that "We have people who stand by us who believe in values, not just Jewish values, but believe in values, and those are not the values of this president, and I do not welcome him to Pittsburgh".[200][201][202]
Before Trump's visit, Tree of Life rabbi Jeffrey Myers said,
"There is hate, and it isn't going away. It just seems to be getting worse. ... We've got to stop hate, and it can't just be to say we need to stop hate. We need to do, we need to act to tone down rhetoric," adding that he would welcome a visit from Trump.[200]
Aaron Bisno, the rabbi ofRodef Shalom Congregation, said he did not think Trump's presence was beneficial, saying that Trump had become a "symbol of division" for many.[203] During Trump's visit to the synagogue, an estimated 2,000 protesters were cordoned off a few blocks away.[204] Afterward, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers said, "The President was very warm, very consoling."[205]
4chan users on the/pol/ board viewed the attack as "accidentallyredpilling" people anddenied that it had occurred. They claimed the purported attack was a "false flag" committed by Jews to gain sympathy. Some users on Gab praised the shooting and created the hashtag #HeroRobertBowers to express support for the shooter.[206][207][208]
On August 10, 2023, Hardy Carroll Lloyd, a man fromFollansbee, West Virginia, was arrested for allegedly making threats towards the jurors and witnesses in Bowers's federal trial on social media and in emails and online comments. According to prosecutors with theU.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia, Lloyd was a "self-proclaimed 'reverend' of a White supremacy movement". He also allegedly expressed support for Bowers and the shooting and had encouraged similar attacks.[209][210] Lloyd was charged with "obstruction of the due administration of justice, transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce and witness tampering."[211] On September 19, 2023, he pleaded guilty and is expected to face more than six years in prison.[210]
Numerous fundraising efforts were launched in order to assist the survivors of the shooting, pay for the burial of the victims, and pay for the repairs to the synagogue.[212] As of November 1, aGoFundMe campaign which was initiated by anIranian graduate student in Washington, D.C., had exceeded US$1 million in donations,[213] and a new goal of US$1.2 million has also been surpassed. Muslim groups opened aLaunchGood crowdfunding campaign to help pay for the burial of the victims and survivors' medical bills, with the funds to be distributed by theIslamic Center of Pittsburgh.[214][46] As of November 1, that campaign had exceeded its goal of $150,000 with more than $225,000 in contributions.[213]
The organizers of the campaign announced that all excess funds would be "spent on projects that help fosterMuslim-Jewish collaboration, dialogue, and solidarity".[215] TheJewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh raised $3.65 million for victims by November 13;[216] donations to that organization were to bematched by theUnited Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Foundation.[212][213] Fundraising campaigns for shooting victims in the Dor Hadash and New Light congregations raised nearly $23,000 combined.[217]
A $6.3 million fund was raised for the survivors of the shooting, the families of the 11 dead, and police officers.[218]
Hate crimes involving an attempt to kill (2 counts)
Obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving an attempt to kill and use of a dangerous weapon, and resulting in bodily injury to public safety officers (8 counts)
Obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs involving use of a dangerous weapon and resulting in bodily injury to public safety officers (4 counts)
Discharge of a firearm during these crimes of violence (25 counts)[3]
^These included Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Buffalo, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Los Angeles, Madison, Memphis, Middletown, New Haven, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Rochester, Salt Lake City, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington, Wilkes-Barre and Woodbridge.[180][182][183][184][185][186][187][188]
^Boxer, Matthew; Brookner, Matthew; Aronson, Janet; Saxe, Leonard (2018) [2017],The 2017 Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community Study, Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, pp. 1–3,archived from the original on July 21, 2018, retrievedOctober 28, 2018
^"About Us". Tree of Life * Or L'Simcha. October 27, 2018. Archived fromthe original on October 27, 2018. RetrievedOctober 27, 2018.
^abMamula, Kris; Goldstein, Andrew; Ward, Paula; Navratil, Liz; Bradbury, Shelly (October 27, 2018)."Eleven dead, six wounded in massacre at Squirrel Hill synagogue" ['Multiple casualties,' some fatalities in Squirrel Hill synagogue mass shooting].Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. RetrievedOctober 27, 2018.
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