Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers sentenced to death

Robert Bowers, the individual who committed the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, has been sentenced to death.

Mr Bowers, 50, opened fire inside the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on 27th October 2018 – a Shabbat morning – armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and multiple handguns. 

From the three congregations sharing the building that Shabbat morning – Dor Hadash, New Light, and the Tree of Life – eleven worshippers were killed and six were injured, including four police officers.

The trial concluded last month, with Mr Bowers being found guilty on all 63 charges, which include eleven counts of “obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death.”

Other charges included willfully causing bodily injury because of actual or perceived religion, use and discharge of a firearm to murder and use and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Mr Bowers’ social media footprint demonstrated a history of fueling antisemitism and expressing hateful rhetoric. Mr Bowers was said to be particularly active on the platform Gab, where in his bio he asserted that “Jews are the children of Satan.”

During the trial, Rabbi Jonathan Perlman took the witness stand, reportedly wearing the same skullcap that he wore the day that Mr Bowers attacked the synagogue, which the police only recently returned to Rabbi Perlman after holding it as evidence for years.

The jury deliberated for approximately ten hours over two days. 

Antisemitic stickers were reportedly found in a Pittsburgh park the day the trial began, and have since been removed. 

According to the FBI, over 60 percent of hate crimes against a religious minority in the United States are motivated by antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.