Gunman in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting found guilty of all charges

Sketch artist David Klug captured scenes from inside the federal courtroom Friday morning as the jury handed down a guilty verdict on all counts against Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.

Bowers was wearing a blue collared shirt and navy sweater, according to reporters in the room. He stood up and looked at the jury when they entered and then sat back down as the charges were read.

He was convicted by a federal jury on all 63 charges against him. This was the deadliest attack ever on Jewish people in the US.

Robert Bowers, second from left, is seen sitting with his defense team in a court sketch in Pittsburgh on Friday.

A general view of the courtroom on Friday is seen in a sketch.

Robert Bowers, second from left, is seen standing with his defense team in a court sketch in Pittsburgh on Friday.

People seated in the courtroom are seen in a sketch on Friday.

Pennslyvania lawmakers and the governor are remembering the 11 people killed in a mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. The shooter, Robert Bowers, was found guilty on federal charges Friday morning.

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey called the guilty verdicts on all charges a “resounding conviction” and a “clear rebuke of the hate and antisemitism that motivated the defendant to target worshippers observing Shabbat morning services across three congregations,” according to a statement from his office.

But he said there is still more work to do to “root out the antisemitism that plagues our Nation and our world to this day,” the statement added. The Democratic lawmaker said he is praying for the families of the victims.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said in a tweet the guilty verdicts were a “step towards justice for such a hateful, disgusting, & antisemitic attack.”

“We all must continue to stand in solidarity with Pennsylvania’s Jewish community against the evil of antisemitism,” he said in a second tweet.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also called the verdicts a “step toward justice” and said he is thinking of the families who lost a loved one, according to a tweet.

The head of a local Jewish organization said it will not take an official stance on “what justice is,” when it comes to a potential death sentence for the gunman behind the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.

Brian Schreiber, the president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, was responding to a reporter’s question about divisions in the community over whether the shooter should be sentenced to death. The gunman’s conviction on all charges Friday makes him eligible for the death penalty and his trial will move to a penalty phase on June 26.

Schreiber, who is a Tree of Life congregant and lost friends in the massacre, said survivors have taken the witness stand to provide important testimony despite the immense difficulty of that task. They will continue to do so in the next phase of the trial, he said.

“It’s going to be gut-wrenching,” added Jeff Finkelstein, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “It’s going to reopen wounds that keep getting reopened for us here in our Pittsburgh community — not just the Jewish community, but this greater Pittsburgh region. And I just encourage everyone to seek the support that they might need.”

The Jewish Community Center has been providing support for those affected by the shooting through its 10.27 Healing Partnership program, which Schreiber said will continue to offer resources. The name of the program is a nod to the date, October 27, 2018, when the attack took place.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Dan Frankel thanked survivors of the Tree of Life mass shooting for their bravery and for sharing harrowing testimony during the trial — an important step in recording history and fighting against hate in the future.

Frankel, who represents a district that includes Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, said he saw the strength of survivors who “recounted the worst days of their lives, the worst minutes of their lives. Worse than anything the rest of us have ever known.”

“The witnesses told us they prepared for death” and shared their fears with 911 operators who were the only voices not “shouting hateful slurs at them,” he said at a news conference following the federal conviction of the gunman on Friday.

Frankel said survivors “reopened these wounds for us” to make sure the story of what happened during the shooting is recorded. He added that documenting the mass shooting and the stories of those praying inside was necessary to combat hate moving forward.

“They told their stories, they recorded history. Now every one of us must grapple with that story,” he said.

The lawmaker said that as the trial moves into its sentencing phase, there is still more work to be done outside the courtroom to make Pennsylvania safe for everyone.

After a federal jury convicted shooter Robert Bower on all 63 charges against him for the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the president of local congregation Dor Hadash says she is feeling a “sense of relief.”

Dor Hadash is one of the three congregations that the Tree of Life synagogue was hosting for a weekly Shabbat service on the day of the shooting.

“I’m feeling a sense of relief that after four and a half years, the world has heard again about the horrific acts of October 27, 2018, and the shooter is being held accountable,” Jo Recht said Friday.

Noting that while trial is not yet over — the penalty phase is set to begin on June 26 — she thanked the judge and the jury, as well as the prosecutors and first responders who were involved.

Jeff Finkelstein, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, speaks to reporters outside the courthouse in Pittsburgh on June 16.

There is no doubt that the 2018 massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue was an act of antisemitism, a local Jewish leader said Friday after the gunman who killed 11 worshippers in the attack was convicted by a federal jury on all charges.

“This was an antisemitic incident. Period. End of the statement,” said Jeff Finkelstein the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, addressing reporters outside the courthouse.

In closing arguments, the defense sought to differentiate between antisemitism and anti-immigration ideology, which they argued was the philosophy behind the attack. That theory is rejected by Jewish leaders like Finkelstein and Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt.

Finkelstein said he is “very pleased” with the verdict but notes that there is “still more to come,” as the trial is now set for the penalty phase, where the jury will consider the death penalty for the gunman.

Finkelstein said he hoped evidence in the penalty phase will further emphasize that the attack was indisputably an act of anti-Jewish hate.

The penalty phase in the federal trial of convicted Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowers is set to begin on Monday, June 26. 

It was triggered after Bowers was convicted Friday of capital counts that included 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and 11 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

The same jury will listen to further evidence and decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison.

He was also convicted on 41 other counts.

Bowers shot and killed 11 worshippers and wounded six others at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue on October 27, 2018. This was the deadliest attack ever on Jewish people in the US. 

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life synagogue speaks to reporters on October 29, 2018, outside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived the synagogue mass shooting, said he is grateful to God and thanked law enforcement after the gunman, Robert Bowers, was convicted on federal charges Friday.

He added, “Today I’m focused on being with my congregation and praying, singing and clapping in praise of God as we do each Shabbat. In the face of the horror of our community has experienced, I can think of no better response than practicing my Jewish faith and leading worship.”

Carole Zawatsky, CEO of Tree of Life, offered words of support for survivors and the families of the victims in a statement with other congregational leaders. She said that while the guilty verdict cannot bring loved ones back, she hopes it brings some comfort.

“Let us, this day, reaffirm our resolve to bring light into our world and keep the memory of each of the victims in our hearts as we do the work of Tikkun HaOlam, repairing our broken world,” Zawatsky said in the statement.

Alan Hausman, president of the Tree of Life Congregation, thanked law enforcement and other people who helped in the aftermath of the shooting.

“The way our community and people of all faiths came together after October 27, 2018, has helped me and continues to inspire me and give me strength as we move forward,” he said in the statement.

The mood inside the courtroom was quiet and stoic as the verdicts were read Friday morning. A jury found Robert Bowers guilty on all 63 counts for killing 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

Bowers was wearing a blue collared shirt and navy sweater, according to reporters in the room. He stood up and looked at the jury when they entered and then sat back down as the charges were read.

“You could hear a pin drop,” reported CNN senior producer Sarah Boxer, who was in the courtroom. She added that toward the later counts, it seemed like the air came out of the room as a few people could be heard sniffling.

An aunt of Bowers was also present in the courtroom but did not have any obvious reaction while the verdict was read, Boxer said.

Bowers appeared to be flipping through papers while the verdicts were read, not looking at the jury. He was sitting next to Elissa Long, who gave the defense team’s closing arguments. Bowers and Long appeared to exchange words here or there.

Before they were released, jurors were asked to affirm, “Is the verdict as read as to all counts your verdict?” Each one forcefully said yes with no hesitation.

The conviction makes Bowers eligible for the death penalty and means the trial will move to a separate penalty phase.

It’s too soon to tell if the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s conviction will serve as a deterrent to other hateful attacks, but it’s encouraging when the justice system works as intended, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, said Friday.

Greenblatt spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash shortly after the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 was convicted by a federal jury on all 63 charges against him.

“It is justice that’s delayed, but it is justice served,” Greenblatt said.

The ADL leader said antisemitic violence has risen significantly over the past decade, calling it a “tsunami of anti-Jewish hate.” The Tree of Life massacre was not the first such attack, and in the years since, more heinous acts have occurred, Greenblatt continued.

Greenblatt expressed his “enormous respect and gratitude” for the jurors and prosecutors in the case.

More on antisemitic violence: The Anti-Defamation League is a civil rights non-governmental organization that has been tracking instances of anti-Jewish hate since 1979.

Antisemitic incidents in the US reached their highest level last year since the start of the ADL’s records, according to the organization. The incidents, including assault, vandalism and harassment, increased by more than a third in just one year and reached nearly 3,700 cases in 2022, an ADL report published in March found.

CNN’s Krystina Shveda contributed to this report.