When law enforcement officials searched the residence of Robert Bowers, they found it appeared like an ordinary apartment in many ways.
There were cleaning supplies and a vacuum in the closet. Spices and pots and pans above the stove. Shirts hanging neatly in the closet. A couch. A Monopoly board game on a closet shelf. Eggs and condiments in the fridge. A copy of Robert Bower’s social security card and a copy of his apartment lease — $485 per month.
Bowers is accused of shooting and killing 11 Jewish worshipers on Oct. 27, 2018 at the Tree of Life Synagogue.
But what stood out to Cedric Jefferson — an FBI special agent who testified in Bowers’ trial Thursday that he performed an initial canvas of the apartment — was the ammunition. There was lots of it, including ammunition for a handgun, a rifle and a shotgun, Jefferson said. The closet door and the safe inside were open, with a copy of a transfer agreement for an AR-15 Colt from 2014. There was a rifle case on the shelf, as well as five additional firearms.
The FBI also found a few DVDs titled, “Home Security and Home Defense,” “Top 10 concealed-carry mistakes and how to avoid them” and “Proven Ground Disc 3: How to ensure you're physically AND mentally prepared to protect yourself from a deadly threat.” Agents also found a card that listed the steps someone should take after they had been involved in a shooting.
And according to photos presented in court Thursday, the only thing hanging on the walls of his living room was a person’s silhouette: a paper shooting-range target.
There were computer coding cheat sheets next to the computer, and the words on the computer screen in the living room were changing even as the FBI searched the apartment, Jefferson testified. Prosecutors showed two images of the black computer screen with white words — not a typical computer screen with logos and pictures that someone with a mouse could click through.
Agents also found gun cases for three Glock handguns, said Jefferson, who read the serial numbers for the guns in court.
Three Glock handguns were recovered from the scene of the synagogue shooting. The trial is recessed until Monday, when testimony will resume.
