San Diego synagogue attacker 'planned to livestream shootings'
President Trump says the attack "looks like a hate crime" and offers his "deepest sympathies" to those affected.
Sunday 28 April 2019 18:07, UK
A woman has died after throwing herself in front of a rabbi during a shooting at a synagogue in San Diego, California.
Three other people were injured when a gunman walked into the crowded synagogue with an AR-type assault rifle and opened fire on worshippers.
He was chased out of the building when an off-duty Border Patrol officer fired back at him.
Police have named the suspect as 19-year-old John Earnest. He is thought to have written a manifesto filled with racist rants and praise for the suspects in the New Zealand mosque shootings in which 50 people were killed.
He allegedly wrote on an online message board that he planned to livestream his attack in San Diego, which took place exactly six months after shootings at a synagogue in Pittsburgh where 11 people died.
County sheriff William Gore confirmed a woman had died from her injuries, while a girl and two men - including the rabbi of the Chabad of Poway - are in hospital in a stable condition.
The rabbi's hands shattered when they were hit in the gunfire.
The dead woman was named by friends as Lori Kaye, 60, of Poway, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The newspaper reported that witnesses said she jumped in front of Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein.
It also reported that the others injured were eight-year-old Noya Dahan, who was hit in the face and leg by shrapnel, and Almong Peretz, 34, who was shot in the leg as he ushered children in a playroom to safety.
One witness who saw Mr Peretz rescue children, told Fox 5 San Diego: "He grabbed all the kids in his hands and was just running towards the exit (when) he saw another kid over there...
"He grabbed him and started running and the shooter shot him in the leg. He didn't care. He kept on running with the kids and just ran out."
Speaking from the White House, President Trump offered his "deepest sympathies" to those affected and said the shooting "looked like a hate crime".
He added that it was "hard to believe".
This attack marks exactly six months since a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people.
The Border Patrol agent's shots made the suspect flee but did not hit him. They did, however, hit his car.
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said the suspect called police to report the shooting and was arrested by a California highway patrol officer.
He got out of the car with his hands up and was taken into custody.
The officer involved described seeing a rifle sitting on the front passenger seat of the suspect's car.
Early indications suggest Earnest's gun might have malfunctioned after firing numerous rounds at the synagogue.
Derryl Acosta, a spokesman for Palomar Medical Centre, said four patients were admitted to the hospital around 12.30pm local time on Saturday.
Roads in the area have been closed and crime tape is surrounding the street in front of the building.
Mr Nisleit said there is no longer a threat since a suspect has been detained, but police will be stepping up patrols at places of worship in the area as a precaution.
Authorities are investigating the suspect's possible connection to an arson at Dar-ul-Arqam mosque last month, which caused property damage but no injuries.
They said a person, who they identified as John Earnest, wrote an antisemitic screed online which contained a number of elements not to be believed, including an allegation that a YouTube star helped to plan and fund the attack.
The post says he was in nursing school and mentioned the suspects accused of carrying out deadly attacks on mosques in New Zealand and a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
A Twitter user allegedly spotted the gunman's post several minutes before the attack and alerted the FBI.
They shared a picture of their computer screen and wrote: "This was posted on a radical right wing website about five minutes ago there is about to be a mass shooting. I'm trying to figure out how to report it."
A timestamp appears to show the tweet was posted a few minutes before the shooting began.
The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which suffered the deadliest attack against Jews in US history last year, said it was "heartbroken" and "appalled" by the latest shooting.
"This must stop," it added.
Minoo Anvari, a member of the Chabad of Poway synagogue, told reporters her husband was in the building at the time of the shooting and had called her during the attack. He told her the shooter was cursing and shouting.
Donny Phonea, who lives across the street from the synagogue, heard someone shout "Police!" and then three or four gunshots.
The 38-year-old looked over his fence to see people hiding behind an electrical box in the car park of a neighbouring church.
He said he knew something was "very, very wrong" at that point and added he was "taken aback" by the incident.
"I moved here because safety was a factor," he said. "Poway is very safe".
The town's mayor, Steve Vaus, denounced the attack, saying: "I want you to know this is not Poway.
"We always walk with our arms around each other and we will walk through this tragedy with our arms around each other."
The attack is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The Chabad of Poway was worshipping on the last day of Passover.
It comes on the same day Donald Trump announced he would be withdrawing from a UN-backed international arms treaty.
The accord was signed by Barack Obama in 2013, but Mr Trump told a National Rifle Association conference it was "badly misguided".