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A Baldwin resident named Robert Bowers was the alleged antisemitic gunman in the Tree of Life Synagogue incident that transpired on October 27, 2018. He carried out a mass shooting inside each of the three congregations that were having services inside the building in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill area. He then got into a shootout with the cops before being arrested.
Bowers previously entered a not-guilty plea and will face the death penalty if found guilty of the shootings. In connection with the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, which resulted in the bloodiest Jewish massacre in American history, with 11 worshippers killed during the shooting, he is facing more than 60 federal counts.
HBO is set to revisit the horrific tragedy from 2018 in an upcoming documentary titled A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting, scheduled to premiere this Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at 9 pm ET.
The synopsis reads:
"On October 27th, 2018, a gunman opened fire inside a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing eleven people as they prayed, in what would become the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history."
It further adds:
"A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting is a deeply personal portrait of the survivors, victims and family members, who share their harrowing first-hand accounts of the impact of the shooting on the community."
A glimpse at Robert Bowers' online posts before the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in 2018
According to sources, on October 27, 2018, Robert Bowers, an anti-Semitic shooter, traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Tree of Life Synagogue. Members of the Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light Jewish congregations assembled there to conduct Sabbath services in different parts of the large building.
Bowers entered the premises carrying many weapons, including a Colt AR-15 rifle and three Glock .357 handguns, and opened fire inside the Synagogue, murdering and injuring members of the three congregations. The shooting wounded several responding police officers as well, who were attempting to save the survivors.
Furthermore, a few days before the shooting, on October 10, 2018, Bowers allegedly shared online posts that were derogatory of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and associated congregations that were sponsoring gatherings for refugees. The Jewish community of Pittsburgh's Dor Hadash was among the congregations on that list.
On October 27, 2018, Bowers reportedly wrote the following on a website before entering the Tree of Life Synagogue, openly expressing his intent.
He wrote:
"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."
Gunman Robert Bowers opened fire inside the Tree of Life Synagogue killing 11 people
Bowers fatally shot 11 worshipers - eight men and three women - and gravely wounded two others, while 12 individuals managed to escape unscathed. The list of victims also includes five responding police officers who were shot in the subsequent shootout while attempting to save the lives of the remaining victims and capture Bowers.
One of the officers who reported the incident claimed that as he and other strategic officers stormed the Tree of Life Synagogue, they noticed two victims to their right who had been shot several times in the head and a bloody trail heading towards the basement. They had to shoot Bowers twice in the shoulder and once in the leg to stop and arrest him.
On April 24, 2023, Robert Bowers' long-delayed capital murder trial will finally begin for the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting massacre.
A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting airs on HBO this Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at 9 pm ET.
