Right here’s what to know because the trial begins:
Who have been the victims?
On the time of the assault, the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha synagogue, which sits in a pleasant neighborhood with a wealthy Jewish historical past, was dwelling to 3 separate congregations, all of which have been gathering for companies in numerous components of the constructing. The Tree of Life congregation, based in Pittsburgh greater than 150 years in the past, and the smaller New Gentle congregation are each a part of the Conservative department of Judaism; the third congregation, Dor Hadash, is Reconstructionist, a extra liberal department.
Members of all three congregations have been killed within the assault. The victims have been Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; Irving Youthful, 69; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; the couple Bernice, 84, and Sylvan Simon, 87; and the brothers Cecil, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54.
Six folks have been wounded, together with 4 law enforcement officials.
The assault drew shock and outrage from the world over, and introduced folks from throughout spiritual communities in Pittsburgh collectively in assist of the congregations that have been attacked. Some members of Dor Hadash created a nonprofit to foyer for brand new gun legal guidelines. The Tree of Life constructing, which sat empty for years after the bloodbath, is being redesigned by the architect Daniel Libeskind and can quickly grow to be the home of a new organization devoted to ending antisemitism. On Sunday, members of the Tree of Life congregation gathered in the synagogue garden to say goodbye to their previous constructing.
Who’s the accused gunman?
Mr. Bowers grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb, raised by his mom and prolonged household. When he was a toddler, his estranged father was charged with raping a lady in the identical neighborhood the place the mass taking pictures would later occur, and killed himself earlier than trial.
After highschool, Mr. Bowers labored as a delivery driver for a bakery and later as a long-haul trucker. He tinkered with electronics, worked on the website of a conservative talk radio show, and, neighbors mentioned, stored principally to himself, no less than within the offline world.