TV news reports are announcing that a 46 year-old shooter, Robert Bowers who has been placed in police custody, had in his possession an AR15 style rifle and 3 hand guns, when he entered the Tree of Life Synagogue around 9:45 am to begin his mass shooting campaign.
It appears that there have been 17 peoples who have been shot with about 11 being fatalities. 6 victims with injuries, including 4 police officers who ran towards line of fire, in the Tree of Life Synagogue, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The mass shooter had been overheard yelling epithets against those of the Jewish faith. His on-line rantings contained numerous antisemitic writings.
Police sources told KDKA the gunman walked into the building and yelled, “all Jews must die.”
This tragedy is being regarded by law enforcement as a hate crime.
This is about the 275th mass shooting in the USA in 2018-to-date.
Here is a list of the victims:
Joyce Fienberg,
75 Richard Gottfried
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Cecil Rosenthal, 59,
David Rosenthal, 54
Bernice Simon, 84
Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 86
Irving Younger, 69
This is a developing story…
On October 27, 2018, Christoper Mele of the NY Times penned the following report, “Multiple Casualties’ Reported at Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting, Police Say”
Excerpts:
“The police in Pittsburgh reported “multiple casualties” after responding to a report of an active shooter at a synagogue, a police commander said.”
“The commander, Jason Lando, told CNN that “right now we have multiple casualties, we’re working the situation.”
“Erika Strassburger, the city councilwoman for the district where the synagogue, the Tree of Life Congregation, is, said that “two police officers are down.”
“It was not immediately clear how many other people had been shot.”
“Ben Opie, 55, who can see the synagogue from his backyard, said his wife was about to leave the house on Saturday morning to do some volunteer work when SWAT officers approached their home and said there was an active shooter in the synagogue.”
“They chased my wife inside,” he said. “They just said get in the house.”
“Justin Matase was returning home around 10:30 a.m. when he saw more than 30 police cars along Shady Avenue and Wilkins Avenue, he said. Mr. Matase said he lives fewer than 1,000 feet away from the synagogue.”
“Mr. Matase said the neighborhood is predominantly Jewish.”
Gronda Morin 
when will this ever end?
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Probably never … or at least until (1) more attention is given to mental health issues, or (2) tRumpsky is out of office.
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Dear Suze,
I’d like to say all of this craziness will end, but it won’t until voters make the GOP pay a price for their ugliness. What they don’t get, is that the GOP shout out/ condoning racists in their midst= condoning those who are anti-semetic,
Hugs, Gronda
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Gronda, I am greatly saddened. This is more evidence of how our country is deteriorating. We won’t do anything about gun governance, we defund domestic terrorist policing to focus on non-US based terrorism, which is dwarfed by the former, and, we have a man in a position of leadership who thinks it is more than OK to demonize people who dare disagree with him or question his ability to tell the truth. Keith
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Dear Keith,
The president with his GOP sycophants coddling of racist groups equals coddling those who suffer from being anti-Semitic.
Both have blood on their hands. I’m sick over the GOP’s responses with “what about them excuses.” This attitude is not acceptable.
The president is the head of this country and this head is ugly as sin. The rest follow at their own peril.
Hugs, Gronda
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I think it is getting to be a very bad time with tRump flaming the fires of his deplorables. Anyone who is not a straight white christian can be a target. He spawns hate and anger against the “other” without any break or forethought. I just read tRump blames Synagogue victims for not having guns. Hugs
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Scottie,
You nailed the problem. The president and his GOP sycophants have been playing with fire with their not so subtle shout out to those racist groups. The members of those racist groups are also ridden with anti-Semitic sentiments and they are prone to violence.
I am now saying that the head of the GOP, the president is rotten to the core and those who follow this pied piper do so at their own peril.
Hugs, Gronda
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So very angry. I dare not put my words in print.
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Dear Roger,
Join the club. What we’ve been witnessing for the past few days was foreseeable and preventable. When the head of any organization is rotten to the core, so goes the body, Those who follow this Monster -in-chief, do so, at their own peril.
Hugs,
Gronda
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I read he’d ordered flags to be flown at half-mast….Is the message getting through? Is is starting to realise, in the words of the old Talking Heads’ song ‘Once in a Life Time’….
‘My God. What have I done?’
It might be a slim, slim hope. but sometimes hope is all we have.
Take care.
Roger.
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This shooting would not have happened if trump had not been elected and continued to attend the “trump rallies” where trump supporters, just like on the 7th grade playground where the kids egg the bully on to beatup smaller kids, trump supporters egg trump on to encourage him to increasingly encourage people to commit increasingly violent acts in his name.
And trump’s view, he cannot understand why the news media is focused on these violent acts perpetrated by trump supporters instead of showing his picture and his “fake promises about tax cuts and health care.” For trump what trump says is more important than the life of any American. Its generally referred to as having “no compassion, no empathy, no remorse.”
The trump response, “I am not to blame, its not my fault. I am the victim. Its the fake news media who are using these deaths to undermine my campaign message.”
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Dear Steve Naegele,
I’ve been crushed over this senseless killing that was both foreseeable and preventable.
The president directs his numerous rallies like a “WWE Wrestle Mania” where he spews his words of hatred, decisiveness, encouraging the use of violence. His condoning attitude towards racist groups has become obvious in recent days, but he does this because they are a reliable voting bloc for him.
The connection here is that these same White Supremacists folks are also virulently anti-Semitic and they are prone to the usage of violence.
He only cares about winning even while Rome burns to the ground.
Hugs, Gronda
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I am so sorry. This is America’s sadness, yet again. Condolences to the involved families. Not a good day for humanity. 😔😢
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Dear Colettebytes,
During these past few days, most Americans feel like they are under-siege from a pile of hate and venom.
You are so right. This has not been good times for humanity, Thanks for your condolences. This is a very ugly chapter in US history.
Hugs, Gronda
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I can barely put into words just how I feel. To me the worst of it is not just trump, although he and his republican complicitors are vile, but the racist nationalists, KKK, militia groups, white supremacy and Nazi groups that are so horrific and filled to the brim with the cancer of hate.
But the most significant group of all is the otherwise regular Americans that could be your neighbor, fellow worker and even a family member that have become lost to decency and kindness and tolerance for different races and religious views. These people are the ones who will ultimately join up with the more extreme if things really get out of hand. They have become a frenzied mob of hate and anger. How does one change into this horror?
I feel depressed and even somewhat fateful in that I’ve done all I can…voiced opinions and vote.
We “talk to the choir” here and we know we cannot make headway to those that are lost. It is impossible. Fate will now take its course and all we can hope for is that there are still enough good people to override this evil. I’m seriously having doubts of that.
I live in a red state and area and feel overwhelmed that there aren’t more people that feel as I do. I’m older and a lot of folks here in Fla are older and I see so much support among the older and white for trump. It’s rampant here. Thankfully, I have friends who are liberal and good.
Then I look at Georgia, Kansas, Texas and all the voter suppression going on and all I can think of is how on earth is this allowed? And why aren’t the democrats speaking up or suing? Where is their outrage?
And although I’m not religious, I see Christianity morphing into something very unchristian. I hear someone say they’re a Christian or someone is a good Christian and I think..are they also a trump supporter? Do they hate gays?
I hear a lot of rhetoric from far right Christians, but none from liberal or moderates. Why do they stay quiet against the Franklin Grahams and the Pat Robertson’s of their world?
What’s with the hatred of Jews? They make up about 3% of the population! What do these haters fear? What do they think they can do that will in any way effect their lives? It’s crazy!
And why do these far right people have no concern for environmental protections. Do they not care about the quality of life for their own generations down the line. Are they so unappreciative of this beautiful planet we live on and the air and water we need for life? Why would they be against any measure to assure the planet for generations to come. That is totally illogical. Are they so very selfish that today’s rise in their portfolio is all that matters?
I could go on, but I’m “vented” out. It’s just so all discouraging. I simply can’t believe there are so called normal Americans that support trump. It is incomprehensible to me.
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😔 It is certainly depressing Mary!
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Dear Colettebytes,
It’s infuriating. 11 people died due to the shooter’s revulsion of the migrant invasion as depicted and highlighted by President Trump, his GOP cronies and the right wing news outlets like FOX News.
They all have blood on their hands.
Hugs, gronda
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Dear Mary Plumbago,
Right on! Those who follow President Trump with his ugly way of doing things have become cult-like. I wish the democrats would fight back harder but not with violence or incivility, but with some smarts.
The GOP candidates have nothing to offer their constituents which is why they have to lie, stoke their fears against migrants, and why they have to cheat as when they conspire to suppress votes.
It is upsetting to me that peoples don’t get how the GOP leaders are using the anti-immigration/ racist/ to further their cause but in doing so, they are backing folks who are also antisemitic.
There is a direct correlation.
Let’s pray that these GOP members learn that catering to racists as part of their base of voters, is not a winning proposition, by losing big time in next week’s elections.
Hugs, Gronda
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There’s just one tragedy after another. It makes me sick…
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I don’t want to just block everything out, but I also don’t want to become consumed in grief and fear over the way the country is.
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I have no words left for how one incompetent orange piece of shit has managed to poison the world. 😦
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Dear DGKaye,
You can say that we are dealing with the toxic presidency. He is so skilled at catering to his followers worst impulses which is amplified by all the media coverage he gets.
Hugs, Gronda
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You are so right! Vote blue like our lives depend on it, because they do! x
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Dear Youonlylivonce19,
WELCOME!
Decent folks everywhere have to work hard not to be consumed with grief, fear, anger. Mental health experts have noted an increase in clients due to their overexposure to all the news pertaining to these crazy times in the USA.
Hugs, Gronda
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Just heard three men convicted of wanting to bomb a Somalian refugee camp said they were influenced by trump’s rhetoric and also Kanye West has said he now realizes he was used and is dropping out of politics.
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Dear Mary Plumbago,
That story about 3 members of how a White Supremacist group had planned to kill Somalia refugees living in Kansas has not received the media coverage that it deserves.
I don’t know who got to Kanye West to get him to see that the Emperor President Trump has no clothes, but I’m grateful to whoever he/ she is.
Hugs, Gronda
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The biggest puzzle to me is why don’t the democrats bring more of this racism out and do more to call out trump’s lies. They seem so meek and quiet except for those running for midterm offices. Finally Obama is speaking out, but where are the others?
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