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Pittsburgh shooting: Casualties at Squirrel Hill synagogue Pittsburgh shooting: Multiple casualties at Squirrel Hill synagogue
(35 minutes later)
There are multiple casualties at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after a gunman opened fire during a service on Saturday. At least eight people have been killed, US media say, in a gun attack on a synagogue in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Police have not said how many people died at the Tree of Life synagogue but four officers were among the wounded. The gunman, who opened fire as the Tree of Life synagogue held a service, was later taken into custody.
President Donald Trump said "a lot of people" had been killed and injured in a "wicked act of mass murder".
The suspect has not been officially identified but US media have named him as Robert Bowers, 46.The suspect has not been officially identified but US media have named him as Robert Bowers, 46.
The gunman is in police custody and is being treated in hospital for injuries, officials say. Federal investigators are treating the shooting as a hate crime.
"It's a very horrific scene. One of the worst I've seen, and I've [worked] on some plane crashes. It's very bad," Pittsburgh's Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said. How did the shooting unfold?
He said that six people were injured but would not say how many had died. Worshippers had gathered at the synagogue, in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood, to mark the Sabbath.
Mr Hissrich said there would now be a federal investigation of a hate crime. Squirrel Hill has one of the largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania and this would have been the synagogue's busiest day of the week.
The synagogue serves the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in Pennsylvania. According to reports, a heavy-set white male armed with an assault rifle and two pistols, entered the building during the Saturday morning service.
Emergency services arrived at the building at about 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT). A service was taking place at the time. Reports say the gunman barricaded himself in a room at the synagogue.
A reporter at the scene said survivors described hearing the gunman shout anti-Semitic abuse as he entered the building, US media report. Emergency services arrived at the building at about 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT), and gunshots could be heard.
The gunman was reportedly a heavy-set white male with a beard. Pittsburgh's Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich later confirmed the gunman was in police custody and was being treated in hospital.
According to the reports, he was armed with an assault rifle and two pistols. He was said to have barricaded himself in a room at the synagogue. He confirmed six people had been injured, including four police officers. but would not say how many had died.
Footage broadcast on US news channels showed a police Swat team and ambulances arriving as officers lined the streets. The crime scene was "horrific", he told reporters. "One of the worst I've seen, and I've [worked] on some plane crashes. It's very bad," he added.
US President Donald Trump later said the shooting was a "terrible, terrible thing". What do we know about the gunman?
US media said he had shouted "All Jews must die" as he carried out the attack.
Although his identity has not been confirmed by the authorities, anonymous law enforcement officials are widely quoted by US media as saying he is 46-year-old Pittsburgh man Robert Bowers.
Social media posts by someone of that name are reported to be full of anti-Semitic comments.
What has been President Trump's reaction?
He called the shooting a "terrible, terrible thing".
"To see this happen again and again, for so many years, it's just a shame," he told reporters on Saturday."To see this happen again and again, for so many years, it's just a shame," he told reporters on Saturday.
He described the gunman as a "maniac" and suggested the US should "stiffen up our laws of the death penalty".He described the gunman as a "maniac" and suggested the US should "stiffen up our laws of the death penalty".
"These people should pay the ultimate price. This has to stop," he said."These people should pay the ultimate price. This has to stop," he said.
Mr Trump added that the incident had "little to do" with US gun laws. "If they had protection inside, maybe it could have been a different situation," he said.Mr Trump added that the incident had "little to do" with US gun laws. "If they had protection inside, maybe it could have been a different situation," he said.
The president is due to give a statement about the synagogue shooting when he appears at the Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis later on Saturday. The president later appeared at the Future Farmers of America Convention in Indianapolis, saying: "There must be no tolerance for anti-Semitism. It must be condemned and confronted everywhere and anywhere it appears."
The BBC's Dan Johnson in Washington says the shootings come at a tense time in the US, after a week in which mail bombs were sent to critics of Mr Trump, ahead of crucial mid-term elections next month. What about other reaction?
Earlier, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement that the incident was an "absolute tragedy" and that such acts of violence could not be accepted as "normal". Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement that the incident was an "absolute tragedy" and that such acts of violence could not be accepted as "normal".
He said: "These senseless acts of violence are not who we are as Americans. My thoughts right now are focused on the victims, their families and making sure law enforcement has every resource they need." He said: "These senseless acts of violence are not who we are as Americans.
"My thoughts right now are focused on the victims, their families and making sure law enforcement has every resource they need."
The New York Police Department said it had deployed officers to synagogues throughout the city as a precaution.The New York Police Department said it had deployed officers to synagogues throughout the city as a precaution.
The BBC's Dan Johnson in Washington says the shootings come at a tense time in the US, after a week in which mail bombs were sent to critics of Mr Trump, ahead of crucial mid-term elections next month.
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