Pittsburgh synagogue gunman convicted in mass shooting that left 11 congregants dead
The gunman who mercilessly opened fire on Jewish worshipers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, killing 11 congregants in one of the deadliest anti-Semitic attacks in US history, was quickly found guilty on all counts Friday.
Robert G. Bowers, 50, was tried on 63 criminal charges, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death.
The verdict was reached Friday morning after the jury of seven women and five men deliberated for just a few hours following closing arguments Thursday afternoon, TribLIVE reporter Paula Reed Ward said.
Bowers initially offered a guilty plea in return for a life sentence, but federal prosecutors turned him down.
Jurors now must decide whether the truck driver should be sent to death row or sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In the run-up to the high-profile trial, his lawyers said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and structural and functional brain impairments.
But prosecutors said in a pre-trial filing that Bowers “harbored deep, murderous animosity towards all Jewish people” that led him to storm into the synagogue in Pittsburgh’s trendy Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Oct. 27, 2018, armed with an AR-15 and three handguns.
The shooting, which left an additional six people injured, took place the day Tree of Life was hosting two other congregations – Dor Hadash and New Light – for Shabbat services, CNN reported.
During the emotional trial, prosecutors called more than 60 witnesses.
Congregant Andrea Wedner told the court Wednesday how she played dead next to her 97-year-old mother, Rose Mallinger, who was fatally wounded.
“I kissed my fingers, and I touched my fingers to her skin. I cried out, ‘Mommy!’ ” Wedner, who was shot in the arm, recalled through tears.
On the second day of the trial, Carol Black, 71, told the jury how she and other terrified worshipers hid in a storage room for what “felt like a year” during Bowers’ rampage.
Black’s brother, Richard Gottfried, 65, was killed in the shooting. She also watched Mel Wax, 87, fall dead when the gunman shot him.
Wax was hard of hearing and opened the closet door thinking the attack was over, Black explained.
Black hid alongside Barry Weber, 81, who described on the stand how Bowers narrowly missed them when he peered into the dark storage space.
“Mel Wax fell back into the room, and a short time later, the door opened slightly. I saw a figure of a person step over the body and then step back. He couldn’t see us. It was too dark,” Weber told the court.
Five Pittsburgh police officers were wounded as they responded to the attack. Bowers was ultimately shot multiple times before he surrendered.
In the lead-up to the shooting, Bowers posted, shared and liked antisemitic and white supremacist content on the social media platform Gab.
His fanatical, bigoted posts often praised Hitler and the Holocaust and frequently disparaged the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which aids refugees of all backgrounds from across the world.
When he was arrested at the scene, Bowers allegedly told police, “All these Jews need to die.”
During his 13-day trial, Bowers’ lawyers argued that he did not act out of religious hatred but rather a delusional belief that Jews were enabling genocide by helping migrants enter the US.
But prosecutor Mary Hahn countered in closing arguments, “The defendant was caught at the synagogue with the murder weapon, so we know he is the shooter,” according to CNN.
“He outright told SWAT operators he went to the synagogue to kill Jews.”
After closing arguments Thursday, New Light Congregation issued a statement decrying Bowers being “indiscriminate in his task, shooting both worshippers and police officers,” the outlet said.
“Survivors were forced to relive the day’s trauma; while family members suffered through testimony recalling the final minutes of their loved ones. He came to kill Jews,” the blistering comment read.
“There can be no forgiveness. Forgiveness requires two components: that it is offered by the person who commits the wrong and is accepted by the person who was wronged. The shooter has not asked – and the dead cannot accept.”
The Shabbat services taking place on the morning of the shooting honored the Jewish tradition of welcoming strangers, TRIBLive said.
Bowers’ case will now enter the penalty phase, which is expected to last six weeks.
The truck driver’s conviction comes at a time of mounting antisemitism across the United States.
In the nearly five years since the Tree of Life massacre, there have been multiple other deadly attacks on synagogues and Jewish communities in California, New Jersey, and Texas, among others.
With Post wires
