POWAY, Calif. - A gunman opened fire on a synagogue in California on Saturday, killing one woman and wounding three others, police said.
Police arrested John Ernest, 19, after the attack in the Boai district north of San Diego.According to (Reuters)
Reports indicate that a gunman opened fire during a religious ceremony to celebrate Easter in the synagogue.
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Police did not discuss the motive behind the attack, but US President Donald Trump described what happened as a "hate crime."
The attack comes six months after a city synagogue in Pittsburgh was shot dead last October, killing 11 people, the most violent anti-Semitic attack in modern US history.
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San Diego police chief Bill Gore told local media that investigators were reviewing the social networking accounts of the suspect in the attack, and were also examining an "open letter" containing anti-Semitic content posted online before the attack.
The letter, published at the 8th Shan online forum hours before the attack on behalf of a man who identified himself as John Ernest, said the attacks on two mosques in Christchurch last month and the Jewish Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh six months ago inspired him.
Authorities later said Ernest was under investigation for his connection to a mosque fire last month.
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"During the shooting, four people were injured and taken to Balomar hospital for treatment, one of them died of his wounds and the other three are in stable condition," said Sharif Ghor.
The mayor of San Diego, Steve Foz, said the rabbi had been shot in the hand, and that "one week after the end of the Easter and the Easter Easter celebrations, it is appalling."
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Gore said that police officers received an appeal to go to the Chapad Synagogue before 11:30 local time after a gunman opened fire on those present in the synagogue with an AR-15 assault rifle.
He added that a patrol was out of service shot the suspect after he fled the scene of the accident in a car, but did not pour it.
Another officer was arrested on the suspect later, according to city police director David Naylet.
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The officer "clearly saw the suspect's car and jumped up with his hands," Naylit said. "He immediately arrested him."
"The 19-year-old officer was detained after seeing a gun on the seat next to the driver in the suspect's car," he said.
President Donald Trump, speaking outside the White House Saturday, told reporters, "At this moment it looks like a hate crime, but my deepest sympathies to all of those affected and we'll get to the bottom of it."
"We strongly condemn the evil of anti-Semitism and the hatred that must be defeated," he said.
US Vice President Mike Bens condemned the attack, calling it a "vicious and cowardly" shooting.
"Everyone stands united in the wake of this attack," said Minu Anfari, whose wife was killed in the shooting at the synagogue.
"We are strong and will not break."
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police officials said police would deploy police around synagogues and other places of worship in the wake of Saturday's attack in San Diego.
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