Shooter who killed 11 at Pennsylvania synagogue in 2018 convicted on 63 charges

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) — Robert Bowers, the gunman who shot and killed 11 people at a Pennsylvania synagogue in 2018, was found guilty on Friday on all 63 federal charges he faced, according to multiple news outlets.

Bowers carried out the deadly attack on Oct. 27 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh using an AR-15 assault-style rifle and three handguns. The mass shooting was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.

"He outright told SWAT operators he went to the synagogue to kill Jews, prosecutor Mary Hahn said during closing arguments.

Of the 63 criminal counts, which included hate crimes, Bowers, 46, was found guilty on 11 counts of obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, a capital offense that carries the death penalty.

Legal proceedings will now move to sentencing wherein a jury must decide whether Bowers will be given the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors had already rejected a plea deal in which Bowers would have pleaded guilty in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.

"He came to kill Jews," New Light Congregation said in a statement during the trial. "Survivors were forced to relive the day's trauma, while family members suffered through testimony recalling the final minutes of their loved ones."

In addition to the 11 victims who were killed, six others were injured. Police eventually shot Bowers multiple times before he was taken into custody.