Several dead as gunman attacks US synagogue

Washington: A gunman opened fire on Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh Saturday, reportedly killing at least four people and injuring half a dozen others before being taken into custody.Local media reported the shooter yelled anti-Jewish slurs during the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue, where dozens were understood to be gathered during Sabbath services, and which comes with the United States witnessing a sharp spike in anti-Semitic incidents.As reports indicated as many as eight could be dead, President Donald Trump hit out at what he called a climate of "hate" -- while his daughter Ivanka, a convert to judaism, denounced a "depraved" attack."It´s a terrible, terrible thing what´s going on with hate in our country frankly, and all over the world," Trump told reporters."Something has to be done," he continued, saying the perpetrators of such attacks "should get the death penalty."Multiple US media identified the shooter as a 46-year-old man from Pittsburgh, Rob Bowers, whose online posts were reportedly rife with anti-Semitic comments.Wendell Hissrich, Pittsburgh´s public safety director, confirmed there were "multiple fatalities" at the scene and at least six people injured including four police officers whose condition was not immediately clear."The scene is very bad inside," Hissrich said.US television networks said at least four people had died, while the local CBS affiliate reported that eight people were dead.A woman at the scene, in the historically Jewish Pittsburgh neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, told CNN her daughter was with others who ran down the stairs and barricaded themselves in the basement of the synagogue after hearing shots."They´re safe, but they kept hearing them firing and everything else," she told the television network.Police cordoned off the building, which was surrounded by police cars, ambulances and a police SWAT team.

from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2Obm7Rk

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