Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims include 2 brothers, husband and wife
Eight men and three women, ranging in age from 97 to 54, were killed at a crowded Pittsburgh synagogue after an alleged gunman opened fire on the congregation during Saturday services, officials have announced.
Allegheny County medical examiner Karl Williams named the victims at a news conference Sunday morning:
Joyce Feinberg, 75
Richard Gottfried, 65
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Brothers Cecil, 59 and David Rosenthal, 54
Husband and wife Bernice, 84 and Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 88
Irving Youngner, 69
Williams said that the victims’ families had been notified and are “in shock and grieving.” Their bodies are undergoing autopsies, and authorities are “doing everything in our power that honors both civil and religious law,” he said.
RELATED: Shooter opens fire at Tree of Life Congregation synagogue
It could take up to a week to finish processing the crime scene, given that bodies were found in three different locations, Williams said.
“There are shell casings everywhere,” he said.
The suspect, 46-year-old Robert Bowers, reportedly yelled, “All Jews must die,” before carrying out the attack, according to police sources. Federal prosecutors filed 29 charges against him on Saturday evening, 22 of which could result in him being sentenced to death.
Bowers brought three Glock handguns and an AR-15 assault rifle into the synagogue, all of which he used in the massacre, Williams said.
He’s expected to make his first court appearance on Monday.
A Torah study and Shabbat services were scheduled at the synagogue on Saturday. During the shooting, a bris ― a Jewish circumcision ceremony for an infant boy ― was reportedly taking place at the Tree of Life synagogue.
Six people, including four police officers, were injured. One officer has been released from hospitalization and officials said a second one is expected to be released sometime on Sunday.
The American Defense League called the shooting “likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.”
This story has been updated with the names of the victims.
