PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Robert Bowers, a convict in a 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, has been given the death penalty. The jury on a Wednesday morning, August 2, decided the sentence after deliberating since Tuesday morning, reports Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
US District Judge Robert J Colville read the jury's unanimous decision inside a courtroom in the presence of survivors and victims’ family members of 11 congregants that died. The shooter spread antisemitic and white supremacist beliefs online before carrying the attack on the synagogue on October 27, 2018, per the AP. The authorities in court documents said that Bowers possessed three handguns and an AR-15 assault rifle when he entered the premises.
Who is Robert Bowers?
Robert Bowers, a white supremacist who openly spread hatred over the internet stormed into a synagogue in Pittsburgh and carried out a mass shooting. The 50-year-old man killed 11 congregators and injured two others, as per cops. KDKA in its report claimed Bowers yelled ‘All Jews must die’ after entering the Tree of Life synagogue while a Saturday morning Shabbat service was in progress.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said via a news release, “The horrific attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue on October 27, 2018, stole the lives of 11 innocent victims, shattered their families, gutted their congregation and the Pittsburgh community, and struck fear in the lives of Jewish people across the country. Hate crimes like this one inflict irreparable pain on individual victims and their loved ones and lead entire communities to question their very belonging. All Americans deserve to live free from the fear of hate-fueled violence and the Justice Department will hold accountable those who perpetrate such acts.”
Who died in the synagogue mass shooting?
According to authorities, 11 victims were killed and two were injured. Congregants who died were Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil Rosenthal, 59; David Rosenthal, 54; Bernice Simon, 84; Sylvan Simon, 86; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; and Irving Younger, 69, as per People.
Howard Fienberg, whose mother Joyce Fienberg, got killed in the attack, reacted to the death penalty sentence, “The jury sat through months of horror and delivered justice to my mom and everyone that was killed and everyone that was injured and beyond.”
Meanwhile, the Wedner/Mallinger family said in a statement, “We thank the prosecutors and their staff for all their hard work and preparation leading up to and during the trial. We are grateful to the Court for their diligence and thoroughness.”
