A SWAT team arrives at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a shooter opened fire killing and injuring multiple people, Saturday, October 27, 2018. (AP/Gene J. Puskar)
A law enforcement official said the man accused of killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue had a license to carry firearms and legally owned his guns.
The official wasn’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke Sunday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Police said Robert Bowers killed eight men and three women in the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday before a tactical police team tracked him down and shot him.
Dr. Karl Williams, chief medical examiner for Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, named the victims as Joyce Feinberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil Rosenthal, 59; David Rosenthal, 54; Bernice Simon, 84; Sylvan Simon, 86; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69.
Driver’s License photo of Pittsburgh synagogue massacre suspect Robert Bowers. (Pennsylvania DOT)
The victims ranged in age from 54 to 97 and included brothers and a husband and wife.
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The suspected gunman reportedly yelled “All Jews must die” as he entered the synagogue and began firing. He engaged in a shootout with responding police officers and barricaded himself inside the building before surrendering.
Court papers said Bowers made statements about genocide and killing Jewish people.
Federal prosecutors have charged Bowers with 29 criminal offenses and state authorities have also leveled charges. Bowers is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday.
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