Woman died jumping in front of rabbi during California synagogue shooting

The rabbi was celebrating the last day of Passover with his congregants at Chabad of Poway when a gunman in a green army-style vest, armed with a semiautomatic weapon, burst in and began shooting.

Voices screeched, “Hide yourself! Shooting! Shooting!” Congregants dropped to the floor. One man threw his body over his 2½-year-old grandson; another was wounded ushering children to safety.

A 60-year-old woman was killed when she jumped in front of the rabbi, whose hands were pierced by gunfire. An 8-year-old girl was hit with shrapnel in the face and leg.

The attack was described by some of the 100 worshipers who were inside the synagogue celebrating one of the most sacred holidays in Judaism. As police across the state boosted patrols around synagogues, the small city of Poway’s tightknit Jewish community was reeling.

“Why? The question is, why?” said Minoo Anvari, whose husband was inside the synagogue during the attack. “People are praying.”

Authorities arrested the suspected shooter, John T. Earnest, who they believe was motivated by hate and, a month ago, may have tried to burn down an Escondido mosque. Investigators were checking the authenticity of an anti-Semitic screed the 19-year-old Rancho Peñasquitos resident allegedly posted online before the 11:20 a.m. shooting.

Earnest, who is white, reportedly wrote in the letter that he was willing to sacrifice his future “for the sake of my people.” He also talked about planning the attack, noting that he drew inspiration from gunmen who killed scores of people at a Pittsburgh synagogue and two New Zealand mosques.

“How long did it take you to plan the attack? Four weeks. Four weeks ago, I decided I was doing this. Four weeks later, I did it,” he wrote, describing himself as a nursing student who plays the piano.

The violence came exactly six months after a gunman killed 11 people and wounded seven others during Saturday morning Shabbat services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and underscores concerns about rising incidents of anti-Jewish hate.

Anti-Semitic incidents around the nation have been increasing since 2013, with the biggest all-time annual jump coming last year, when the tally climbed 57% to 1,986, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The majority of those incidents were harassment, which rose 41% to 1,015 incidents, including 163 bomb threats against Jewish community centers and synagogues. Vandalism rose 86% to 952 cases. The number of physical assaults fell from 36 to 19.

President Trump offered condolences to the Poway victims and their families from the White House lawn Saturday.

“My deepest sympathies go to the people that were affected,” he told reporters. “At this moment, it looks like a hate crime.”

Founded in 1986 by Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Chabad of Poway is affiliated with Lubavitch, a branch within Orthodox Judaism’s Hasidic movement. It bills itself as a place where “traditional Jewish values are brought to life in a joyous, non-judgmental atmosphere.”

It grew quickly, attracting families to a congregation modeled on the bustling Jewish enclaves that existed in New York City and Eastern Europe. Dozens moved within walking distance so they could follow the requirement not to operate machinery on the Sabbath. The campus underwent a $1.7-million expansion project in the mid-1990s, building a 13,000-square-foot facility with a sanctuary, a meeting hall and offices.

Like many synagogues around the country, Chabad of Poway responded to earlier mass shootings by increasing its security through grants from the federal Department of Homeland Security — $81,000 in 2006 and $75,000 in 2010.

“One message from all of us in our congregation is that we are standing together. We are getting stronger,” said Anvari, the synagogue member. “Never again. You can’t break us. We are strong.”

As faith leaders, civil-rights activists and politicians across the globe condemned the shooting, those inside told their stories of heroism and survival.

Danny Almog had just arrived at the synagogue with his family when he heard six loud shots — noise he thought might be a chandelier falling or chairs crashing.

He saw the gunman carrying what looked like an M-16.

“He didn’t say nothing,” said Almog, 40. “Just came in and started shooting.”

Almog said he dropped to the floor and started crawling to find his kids. He saw that his father-in-law had thrown his body over Almog’s 2½-year-old son to protect him. He saw the older man get up, and Almog ran to grab his 4-year-old daughter, Yuli, who had been in a children’s playroom with about a dozen other kids.

He screamed, “Yuli! Yuli! Where are you?”

A friend, Almog Peretz, 34, said he had her. The friend had scooped up several kids and ushered them to safety. As he did so, Peretz was struck in the leg by bullet shrapnel.

Several neighbors reported hearing the gunshots, with some briefly evacuated from their homes.

Authorities said the suspect’s gun may have jammed during the shooting. As Earnest fled, an off-duty Border Patrol agent who was working as a security guard at the synagogue fired several shots, hitting the suspect’s car. The suspect called 911 shortly after and told a California Highway Patrol dispatcher that he was involved in the shooting.

Around the same time, a San Diego police K-9 officer was racing to the scene after hearing about the shooting on the police radio. The officer was monitoring the CHP radio as well and stopped where the suspect had pulled over, at Rancho Bernardo Road and Interstate 15.