POWAY — Authorities say a woman died and three other people were hospitalized after a shooting at a synagogue outside San Diego on Saturday, the last day of Passover. A 19-year-old man, said to be armed with an assault rifle, was arrested.
San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said at a news conference that a white man entered Chabad of Poway and opened fire on worshippers with an AR-type assault weapon. There were indications the weapon might have malfunctioned during the attack, Gore said.
Update #1: A man has been detained for questioning in connection with a shooting incident at the Chabad of Poway synagogue. @SDSOPoway Deputies were called to Chabad Way just before 11:30 a.m. There are injuries. This is a developing situation.
— Poway Station (@SDSOPoway) April 27, 2019
Gore said an off-duty Border Patrol agent believed to be inside the synagogue shot at the suspect as he fled. The sheriff said the agent didnt hit him but struck his car.
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said the 19-year-old suspect called police to report the shooting and a San Diego officer heard it on a police scanner, saw the suspect and pulled him over. Nisleit said the suspect got out of his car with his hands up and he was taken into custody without incident. He was later identified as John Earnest of San Diego and Gore said hes being investigated in a fire at a mosque in nearby Escondido last month.
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A Jewish leader in the San Diego area identified the victims of the shooting.
Lori Kaye, 60, of Poway was killed, Rabbi Yonah Fradkin, executive director of Chabad of San Diego County, said in a statement. Those injured in the shooting Saturday were Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Noya Dahan, 8, and Almog Peretz, 34, he said.
“In the face of senseless hate we commit to live proudly as Jews in this glorious country,” Fradkin said. “We strongly believe that love is exponentially more powerful than hate. We are deeply shaken by the loss of a true woman of valor, Lori Kaye, who lost her life solely for living as a Jew.”
Witnesses said Kaye jumped in front of Goldstein, who was wounded in the index fingers on both hands, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Noya was hit with shrapnel in the face and leg and Peretz was shot in the leg as he ushered children in a playroom to safety, the Union-Tribune reported.
Derryl Acosta, a spokesman for Palomar Health Medical Center Hospital, said the four patients were admitted around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The Sheriffs Department said it was advised by trauma surgeons that the woman who was injured did not survive her injuries. Of the other three injured, a sheriffs statement said, “Doctors say they are doing well.”
President Donald Trump offered “deepest sympathies to the families of those affected.
At the White House, Trump said Saturday that the shooting “looked like a hate crime” and called it “hard to believe.” He spoke from the South Lawn before flying to a rally in Wisconsin.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Gov. Gavin Newsom also offered their condolences to the Jewish community.
Newsom said “no one should have to fear going to their place of worship.”
Pelosi said on Twitter that she stands with the Jewish community against “this act of hate.”
The mayor of Poway, who tweeted that he got a call from the president offering help, also denounced what he called a hate crime.
“I want you know this is not Poway,” Mayor Steve Vaus said. “We always walk with our arms around each other and we will walk through this tragedy with our arms around each other.”
Around Southern California, police agencies stepped up patrols after the attack, though there was no other known confirmed threat.
Television cameras film the outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Poway, Calif. Several people were injured in a shooting at the synagogue. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Synagogue members walk outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Poway, Calif. Several people were injured in a shooting at the synagogue. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
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Synagogue members console one another outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Poway, Calif. Several people were injured in a shooting at the synagogue. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Synagogue members stand outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Poway, Calif. Several people were injured in a shooting at the synagogue. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Synagogue members console one another outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Poway, Calif. Several people were injured in a shooting at the synagogue. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Synagogue members talk to a San Diego County Sheriffs deputy outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Poway, Calif. Several people were Read More – Source
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