The gunman who killed 11 people and injured 6 others during a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 was found guilty of 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death, by a Pennsylvania jury on Friday, AP reports.
The big picture: The shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue marked the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history, and Friday's verdict brings the harrowing case closer to a close.
- “I am grateful to God for getting us to this day,” said Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Today, I’m focused on being with my congregation and praying, singing and clapping in praise of God as we do each Shabbat.”
- The jury will decide in the sentencing phase of the trial in the weeks ahead whether Robert Bowers, 50, will serve life in prison without parole or receive the death penalty.
Zoom in: Though the jury deliberated for roughly five hours over two days before coming to its verdict, Bowers' guilt was never disputed — even by his own attorneys.
- Among his convictions were 11 counts of obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, 11 counts of willfully causing bodily injury because of actual or perceived religion resulting in death, as well as 11 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to a crime of violence, according to NBC News.
- Bowers regularly spewed hatred of Jews on social media, even just minutes before the Oct. 27, 2018, shooting.
- When he entered the synagogue armed with an AR-15 rifle and three handguns, he yelled "All Jews must die" before opening fire.
Zoom out: Antisemitism — and other hate crimes — have surged in the U.S. over recent years, with the Anti-Defamation League recording at least 3,697 antisemitic incidents in the country in 2022, a record level, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
- Mass killing events are also on the rise, with the country on pace this year to set a new record for incidents where four or more victims, not including the assailant, are killed.
- The trend has been driven overwhelmingly by gun violence.
Go deeper: At least 57 killed, 133 injured in 38 U.S. mass shootings in May
