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Robert Bowers, who was accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018, was found guilty Friday of all counts facing him.
Bowers was charged with 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
On Oct. 27, 2018, Bowers opened fire with an AR-15 rifle and other guns at the Pennsylvania synagogue, although prosecutors and the defense sparred at trial over the 50-year-old's motive. Seven people were wounded, including five police officers.
"I am grateful to God for getting us to this day," Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation, who survived the attack, said in a written statement after the verdict was announced, according to The Associated Press. "And I am thankful for the law enforcement who ran into danger to rescue me, and the U.S. Attorney who stood up in court to defend my right to pray."
Carole Zawatsky, CEO of the Tree of Life Congregation, also told the AP Friday she hoped the verdict would provide survivors and victims’ family members with "some level of comfort and helps to ease the pain, even if ever so slightly."
WHO IS ROBERT BOWERS? PITTSBURGH SYNAGOGUE SUSPECT POSTED VIEWS ONLINE
Robert Bowers, 50, the truck driver who shot and killed 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the nation's deadliest attack on Jewish people. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation/Matt Rourke/AP)
In closing arguments Thursday, a prosecutor told the jury that Bowers targeted his victims because of their religion, noting his extensive online trail of antisemitic and white supremacist content. Bowers also told police at the scene that "all these Jews need to die," prosecutor Mary Hahn said.
Hahn also said one couple, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, "died in the pew they sat at week after week, year after year," according to The Associated Press.
The defense argued that Bowers was not trying to stop people from practicing their faith, an element of some of the crimes he is charged with. Defense lawyer Elisa Long argued that Bowers instead acted out of a delusional belief that he had to attack congregants because of their support of a Jewish humanitarian group that resettles refugees, people he viewed as invaders.
A damaged prayer book sits in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh following a shooting that left 11 people dead. The perpetrator, Robert Bowers, was characterized by prosecutors as a rabid anti-Semite whose seething hatred of Jews led him to treat the house of worship as a "hunting ground." (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania via AP)
Two hours before Robert Bowers burst into the Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire during a Shabbat service, he posted on the chat site Gab.com about the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the New York Times has previously reported.
"HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in," a message attributed to Bowers said.
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In this combo image made from photos provided by the United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania are the victims of the Oct. 27, 2018, assault on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Top row, from left, Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, and David Rosenthal; bottom row, from left, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Dan Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger. (AP/United States District Court Western District of Pennsylvania)
HIAS, a Maryland-based nonprofit, helps refugees around the world and is guided by Jewish values, according to the organization.
Police said Bowers had 21 guns registered in his name and was not known to law enforcement before the shooting. He is a registered voter with "no affiliation" in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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