The suspect in a grisly shooting that left 11 people dead at a Pittsburgh synagogue was charged Wednesday in a 44-count indictment accusing him of federal hate crimes.
Officials say Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin, Pennsylvania, drove to Tree of Life synagogue, armed with Glock .357 handguns and a Colt AR-15 rifle. The indictment charges that while he inside the synagogue, Bowers made statements indicating his desire to “kill Jews.”
In announcing the indictment, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the alleged crimes “are incomprehensibly evil and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation.”
The indictment charges Bowers with killing 11 people, and for each of those victims, he faces separate counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death, and using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence.
The charges carry a possible death sentence.
Authorities have not said whether Bowers – who was wounded during the gun battle with police responding to the synagogue – is cooperating.
– The Washington Post
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.