'Deadliest Attack on Jewish Community in U.S. History': Jewish Leaders
Lament Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

'It is unfathomable that in the United States of America, Jews or any one
else should have to live in fear of being targeted simply because of who
they are and where they choose to worship,' says World Jewish Congress
president

Pittsburgh synagogue suspect has history of anti-Semitic posts

(Reuters) - The suspect in Saturday�s mass shooting at a Pittsburgh
synagogue is a 46-year-old local man named Robert Bowers who posted anti-
Semitic messages on social media.

SWAT police officers respond after a gunman opened fire at the Tree of
Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 27, 2018.
REUTERS/John Altdorfer
While authorities were not officially naming the man taken into custody
after the killings at the Tree of Life synagogue, a federal law
enforcement official and a Jewish community security official confirmed
Bowers� identity.

Two hours before the gunman burst into the synagogue and opened fire
during a Shabbat religious service, Bowers posted on chat site Gab.com
about the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), a non-profit that helps
Jewish refugees relocate to the United States.

�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,� wrote
Bowers, a described as a white male, heavy set, with a beard.

Gab.com said in a statement that when it learned of the shooting suspect�s
profile on its site, it took �swift and proactive� action to contact law
enforcement immediately.

Gab, which promotes itself as a free-speech alternative to the more
heavily policed Twitter, said it backed up the user data and suspended the
account, then told the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the data held
by the company.

�Gab unequivocally disavows and condemns all acts of terrorism and
violence,� the company�s statement said.

Gunman kills at least eight in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
An archive of Bower�s posts since he joined the site in January appeared
to show an angry, anti-Semitic man who shared messages such as: �Daily
Reminder: Diversity means chasing down the last white person.�

About a month ago he posted pictures showing what appeared to the results
of his target practice at a shooting range, and a collection of three
handguns that he called his �glock family.�

Bowers, who is a registered voter with �no affiliation� in Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania, took aim in one post at U.S. President Donald Trump,
accusing him of being a �globalist� who did nothing to stop the
�infestation� of the United States by Jews.

�For the record, I did not vote for him nor have I owned, worn or even
touched a MAGA hat,� he wrote. MAGA is an acronym for Make America Great
Again that is frequently used by Trump.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pennsylvania-shooting-
suspect/pittsburgh-synagogue-suspect-has-history-of-anti-semitic-posts-
idUSKCN1N10S6