Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Contact 90.5 WESA with a story idea or news tip: news@wesa.fm

Prosecutors File 29 Charges Against Synagogue Shooter

Google Maps

The man suspected of killing 11 people at Tree of Life Congregation synagogue in Squirrel Hill has been charged with obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.

Federal prosecutors say Robert Bowers was charged Saturday night in a 29-count criminal complaint. It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney.

The charges also include 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder, weapons offenses and charges alleging Bowers seriously injured police officers while obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs.

Authorities said six people, including four police officers, were also wounded during Saturday's shooting.

The charging documents were not immediately available in a federal court records database, but Attorney General Jeff Sessions said earlier in the day that the Justice Department intended to file federal hate crime charges.

In a statement Saturday, Sessions called the killings "reprehensible and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation."

That echoes earlier comments from President Donald Trump, who said such shooters should receive the death penalty and "suffer the ultimate price.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.