City of steel stronger than hate

An+image+is+taken+of+the+city+of+Pittsburgh%2C+Pennsylvania.+The+city+was+recently+hit+by+the+biggest+terrorist+attack+on+a+Jewish+community+in+United+States+history.++

An image is taken of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The city was recently hit by the biggest terrorist attack on a Jewish community in United States history.

Gabriel Farrell, Ranger Review Reporter

City of Steel  stronger than hate.

Gabriel Farrell

A mass shooting in a Jewish synagogue took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 27, 2018. There were 11 casualties, and it is currently the biggest attack on those in the Jewish community in US history. The gunman was taken into custody and has pleaded not guilty in a court of law.

Robert Bowers, the gunman, and was anti-Jew. Bowers was armed with one assault rifle and three handguns, according to USA Today. The attack took 20 minutes and began at 9:54 a.m. ET, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety director Wendell Hissrich.

“During the shooting spree, everyone was inside the Tree of Life synagogue and were worshiping when the shooting started,” the FBI said.

Bowers is being charged with 29 criminal counts, including 11 federal hate-crime charges and 11 counts of using a firearm to kill. He has reached the maximum kill count for the death penalty,  according to USA Today.

Bowers had posted on a social media outlet, called Gab, and had posted hate crimes on this social media site and was not reported to any authority. He had also shown off his gun collection and multiple magazines and sights.

President Trump went to Pittsburgh to talk about this tragedy. “We are learning a lot about it. It looks definitely like it’s an anti-Semitic and that is something you wouldn’t believe could still be going on,” Trump said.

Since the shooting, the amount of hate crimes has continued to sky rocket. Two black people were murdered in a grocery store, and there have been swastikas drawn over owners of business shops. In 2017, the hate crime reported percentage was at 60% and now it’s up to 80%, according to CNN.

In response to the shooting, Florida governor, Rick Scott ordered more patrols after the synagogue deaths, according to AP News. There have been more patrols around religious centers and churches in the area.

“They showed his photo, and my stomach just dropped,” said Kerri Owens, who lived next door to Bowers for two years. “I was sick to my stomach knowing he had been on the other side of the wall from me,” said Owens.

A Pittsburgh doctor ran inside to save some of the victims, but did not make it out alive. He pushed some of the FBI aside and said,“I can’t just watch people get slaughtered.”

Before the shooting, Bowers had kept quiet and everyone said he was a friendly person. “Bowers pretty much kept to himself and would go outside and light a cigarette and would never say bye or hi,” said Boff, the disabled man Bowers was housing .

“There are crazy people out there who commit these kind of crimes…but you can’t let them intimidate you. All it is is terrorism…to try to make you change the way that you live, and if you give into that, then they won,” said US reporter DaVid Powell.