The suspect in a shooting that left 11 people dead at a Pittsburgh synagogue was charged Wednesday in a 44-count indictment accusing him of federal hate crimes.
Officials say Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin, Pa., drove to Tree of Life synagogue, armed with Glock .357 handguns and a Colt AR-15 rifle. The indictment charges that while he inside the synagogue, Bowers made statements indicating his desire to "kill Jews."
In announcing the indictment, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the alleged crimes "are incomprehensibly evil and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation. Therefore this case is not only important to the victims and their loved ones, but to the city of Pittsburgh and the entire nation."
The indictment charges Bowers with killing 11 people and, for each of those victims, he faces separate counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence.
He also faces charges of attempting to kill people exercising their religious beliefs, and civil-rights charges related to injuring several police officers who responded to the attack.
The charges carry a possible death sentence, and the Justice Department has said previously that federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh had initiated the process to seek such a punishment. The case, though, must still be reviewed by Justice Department lawyers specializing in capital cases, and the final decision will ultimately be left to the attorney general.
Bowers also faces a number of state charges filed over the weekend, including 11 counts of criminal homicide. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said Tuesday that his office sought to have Bowers arraigned on the state charges but was denied by federal authorities. Zappala said he would prefer that local residents "sit in judgment" of Bowers in a trial, but instead would let the federal case proceed and put the state charges on hold for the time being.
Federal investigators concluded that Bowers legally acquired and possessed all of the guns recovered from Tree of Life synagogue and his home, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Authorities have not said whether Bowers -- who was wounded during the gunbattle with police responding to the synagogue -- is cooperating with investigators or detailed what he may have told them. But according to the hospital that treated him for two days after the attack, he continued making comments there about wanting to kill Jews, even though some of the nurses and doctors who treated him were Jewish.
The indictment was announced on the second day of a weeklong series of funerals for congregants who perished in the mass shooting.
"Today begins the process of seeking justice for the victims of these hateful acts, and healing for the victims' families, the Jewish community, and our city," U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said in a statement.
One after another, services were held for three more victims of the rampage: Joyce Fienberg, 75; Melvin Wax, who was in his late 80s; and Irving Younger, 69.
Fienberg's sons, Anthony, of Paris, and Howard, of Vienna, Va., said she spent five years caring for their father as he battled cancer, then, after his death a few years ago, devoted more of her time and energy to Tree of Life. She was a retired researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.
"My mom would be very angry that her funeral wasn't able to be at Tree of Life, and that her friends lost Saturday couldn't be here," Howard Fienberg said.
Younger had a small realty office in Squirrel Hill, the heart of Pittsburgh's Jewish community, and coached baseball for more than 20 years. He loved to talk, and would gladly share his life story or stop strangers on the street to show them pictures of his grandson in California. One friend called him "a kibbitzing, people-loving man."
The day's other funeral was held for Wax, a retired accountant who was regarded as a core member of the congregation at New Light, which rented space in the lower level of Tree of Life.
Information for this article was contributed by Matt Zapotosky, Devlin Barrett and Mark Berman of The Washington Post; and by Maryclaire Dale of The Associated Press.
A Section on 11/01/2018