A Shooting At A Synagogue Near San Diego Left One Dead And Three Injured
"You can't break us," said one member of the Chabat of Poway synagogue. "We are strong. You can't break us."
A 19-year-old man is in custody after a shooting on Saturday at a synagogue in Poway, near San Diego, left one woman dead and three other people injured, according to authorities.
A man armed with an "AR-type assault weapon" opened fire at Chabad of Poway shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore told reporters. Saturday is Shabbat, or the Jewish Sabbath, and the synagogue was scheduled to be holding services, according to its website. On Facebook, Chabad advertised a Passover Holiday Celebration scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time.
"As you can imagine it was an extremely chaotic scene with people running everywhere when we got here," Sheriff Sgt. Aaron Meleen told reporters.
Four people — a young girl, two adult men, and an older woman — were injured, Gore said. They were taken to Palomar Medical Center, where the woman died of her injuries.
An off-duty border patrol agent fired shots at the suspect's car as he fled the scene, Gore said, but did not injure him.
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said the suspect called authorities to let them know he'd been involved in the shooting and to provide his location. The suspect, described only as a 19-year-old white man from San Diego, then pulled his car over and was arrested by a police canine officer who was on the way to the scene.
"[The officer] clearly saw a rifle sitting on the front passenger seat of the suspect's vehicle," Nisleit said.
Authorities said they were investigating social media posts that may be linked to the suspect. Shortly before the incident, a post was made on the message board 8Chan claiming to be from the shooter and sharing a manifesto that railed against Jews. A Facebook account linked to in the post was subsequently taken down. A Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News they were "monitoring" the incident and would provide more information soon.
Similar to the suspected shooter at the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque earlier this year, the manifesto also appeared to contain several ironic references to alt-right online culture designed to trick or troll unsuspecting readers. In one instance, the writer claimed, with no evidence, that the act was planned and financed by Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, the Swedish YouTuber known as PewDePie. During the livestream of his slaughter, the Christchurch suspect also told viewers to "subscribe to PewDePie" — the YouTuber later said he was "sickened" by the reference.*
Police Chief Nisleit said his officers were also assisting in the incident and would provide extra security at places of worship.
Federal agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on the scene.
Mayor Steve Vaus described the incident as a hate crime. "All of the faith communities here are like family," he said in a phone interview on MSNBC. "Just a week ago we had an interfaith gathering to find common ground. So for this to happen only a week later, at the end of the passover, only a week after Easter, is horrific."
Minoo Anvari, a member of the synagogue, told local media her husband telephoned her to say there had been a shooting.
"One guy came and [started to] shoot everybody, cursing," she said he told her.
Anvari also shared a message with media on behalf of her congregation: "We are standing together, we are getting stronger. Never again. You can't break us. We are strong. You can't break us."
In October, exactly six months ago to the day, 11 people were killed, and four police officers wounded, after a gunman opened fire in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also on a Saturday morning. The suspect in that shooting, who had railed against Jews online, was subsequently charged with a total of 29 federal charges, including 11 counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.
President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the victims. "Thoughts and prayers to all of those affected by the shooting at the Synagogue in Poway, California," he tweeted. "God bless you all. Suspect apprehended. Law enforcement did outstanding job. Thank you!"
Krystie Lee Yandoli and Brandon Wall contributed reporting from Los Angeles, while Ryan Mac reported from San Francisco.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates or follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.
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David Mack is a deputy director of breaking news for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact David Mack at david.mack@buzzfeed.com.
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