The avowed anti-Semite accused of opening fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue and killing 11 worshippers is scheduled to appear in federal court, as three more victims of the massacre are laid to rest.
Funerals will be held for Sylvan Simon, 86, his wife, Bernice, 84, and for Richard Gottfried, 65, who were killed on Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill district in the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history.
The accused gunman, Robert Bowers, 46, will be arraigned on a 44-count grand jury indictment that includes 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder, one count for each worshipper killed.
Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against Bowers, who also faces hate crime and firearm charges.
Bowers is accused of bursting into the synagogue and opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle and three pistols in the midst of Sabbath prayer services as he shouted “All Jews must die.”
Read the article by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Chriss Swaney in The Australian.