A teenager who praised Australian white supremacist gunman Brenton Tarrant opened fire at a synagogue in California yesterday, killing one person and wounding three others including the rabbi as worshippers marked the final day of Passover.
The shooting in the town of Poway, north of San Diego, came exactly six months after a white supremacist killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue — the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the US.
John Earnest, 19, surrendered to a police after bursting into Chabad of Poway and opening fire with about 100 people inside, killing Lori Kayne, 60, and wounding Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Noya Dahan, 8, and Almog Peretz, 34.
Mr Earnest, who had no record, may be charged with a hate crime in addition to homicide, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said. He is also being investigated in connection with an arson attack on a mosque in nearby Escondido, California, on March 24.
Sheriff Gore said Mr Earnest burst into the synagogue shortly after 11.20am (4.20am yesterday AEST) and opened fire with an AR4 assault rifle that appears to have malfunctioned, preventing him from inflicting more harm. Sheriff Gore said an off-duty border patrol agent at the synagogue opened fire on the gunman as he was fleeing, striking his car but missing the suspect.
Shortly after fleeing, Mr Earnest called 911 to report the shooting, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said. He was caught by a San Diego policeman who had been monitoring dispatch radio and raced to the scene. “He clearly saw the suspect’s vehicle, the suspect jumped out with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody by the San Diego police department,” Chief Nisleit said.
Read the article in The Australian (AP, AFP, Reuters).