27th October, 2018
Photo: BBC.Reuters
Eleven people have been killed, officials say, in a gun attack on a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
BBC reports that the gunman, who opened fire as the Tree of Life synagogue held a service, was later taken into custody.
President Donald Trump said “a lot of people” had been killed and injured in a “wicked act of mass murder”.
The suspect, who has been officially identified as Robert Bowers, 46, was injured and is receiving treatment.
Two other people are in hospital in a critical condition, police said.
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish non-governmental organisation that fights anti-Semitism, said: “We believe this is the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.”
A vigil for the victims of the synagogue attack is due to take place in Squirrel Hill at 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Worshippers had gathered at the synagogue, in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood, for a baby naming ceremony during the Sabbath.
Squirrel Hill has one of the largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania and this would have been the synagogue’s busiest day of the week.
According to reports Mr Bowers, a white male, entered the building during the Saturday morning service armed with an assault rifle and two pistols.
Reports say he barricaded himself in a room at the synagogue when police approached.
Emergency services arrived at the building at about 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT), and gunshots could be heard.
Pittsburgh’s Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich later confirmed Mr Bowers was in police custody and was being treated in hospital.
The crime scene was “horrific”, he told reporters. “One of the worst I’ve seen, and I’ve [worked] on some plane crashes. It’s very bad,” he added.
He said that two officers were injured in an “initial confrontation” and that a further two Swat officers were later hurt by the gunman when they entered the building. He said that no children were among the casualties.