The Unspeakable Carnage of a Hate-Fuelled Mass Shooting and Human Trauma

"It’s a witness [the Tree of Life Siddur with a bullet hole through it] to the horror of the day. One day when I’m not there, this book tells a story that needs to be told." 

"I thought about the history of my people, how we’ve been persecuted and hunted and slaughtered for centuries, and how all of them must have felt at the moments before their death."

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers,Tree of Life synagogue, Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood

 

"None of us were talking [hiding in a closet]."

"At first [the noise] was coming from upstairs and then it got louder and that indicated to me that it was closer to me, closer to where I was."

"I saw a shadow of somebody as they entered just between the crack of the door and the jamb [assuming the shadow was the shooter]." 

"[Despite the terror, she remained calm.] If I remained calm, I would not give my position away."

Carol Black, 71, the sister of victim Richard Gottfried

 

"Tree of Life synagogue…shooting…man with an automatic weapon [in the whispered 911 call, which was played in court]. A man was just shot right outside the door, please get the police here immediately."

"My throat was closed, I was very quiet, I didn’t want anyone outside the room to hear me."

Barry Weber, 81, Tree of Life congregant 

"I reviewed my life. [Lying on the floor shot in the stomach] I thought about the wonder of it all, the beauty of life, the happiness I had experienced through my life … the joy of having two beautiful sons."

"I prayed for forgiveness for those who I had wronged through my life."

Daniel Leger, 75, seriously wounded in the deadly shooting

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers testified that a damaged prayer book "tells a story that needs to be told." United States District Court

When Rabbi Jonathan Perlman took the witness stand on Thursday the yarmulke he had worn when the gunman burst into his synagogue in Pittsburgh during Sabbath services -- which had fallen off his head and was retained by police as evidence for years, while they built their case, awaiting a trial date to be set for the October 27, 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue, the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history -- was firmly back on his head. 

Three different congregations shared the Tree of Life synagogue building for their services, held on different floors. Rabbi Perlman, 59, was determined to explain to the jury, the judge and those in the courthouse a little bit of background about Judaism, that skullcaps were worn in God's presence and to remind the wearer that God is always present with them. That the siddur that had been desecrated would not be buried according to custom, but would be kept as a reminder of that dreadful day's happening.

The lettering in Hebrew characters on his yarmulke read "There is nothing aside from Him". And Rabbi Perlman said to the federal jury: "This is a God who is present to all aspects of creation." His words may also have been meant for the ears of the mass murderer for he too sat there; it was his trial, a 50-year-old truck driver from a Pittsburgh suburb facing 63 federal charges related to the murder of 11 worshippers from all three of the congregations. They were New Light, Dor Hadash and the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life massacre in 2018 was the deadliest antisemitic attack in the nation’s history.  Credit...Hilary Swift for The New York Times

There are eleven counts of hate crimes resulting in death. Conviction could bring the death penalty for this man who expressed his hatred for Jews online as well as at the synagogue the day of the atrocity he perpetrated in a spiritual refuge, in a Judaic House of Prayer. Rabbi Perlman in his testimony described arriving at the basement sanctuary of the congregation just before worship was to begin.

One of the members, Melvin Wax, led an opening prayer where "we talk about how grateful we are to start a new day", recalled the rabbi. Immediately afterward the sound of gunfire was heard from elsewhere in the building. "I said, 'We're in danger, follow me'." He ushered Melvin Wax, 87 years of age, with diminished hearing, and two others into a storage room in the large building. "I said, 'Please don't. Stay inside'. He didn't listen to me", he explained of Mr. Wax who wanted to see what the noise was about.

The elderly man opened the door to peer out, and was immediately shot, and killed. The attack was underway on the main floor. New Light members in the basement were advised by Tree of Life member Stephen Weiss that they should not venture upstairs to where the attack was taking place. A "man of extraordinary courage", described Rabbi Perlman, to risk his life to warn others of impending danger. 

Stephen Weiss informed jurors he was one of a dozen worshippers at the start of Tree of Life's service, being held in a separate chapel. As a ritual leader of the congregation it was his duty to be certain a minyan of ten adult worshippers were present before the service could begin. Two of those with him exited the room after a loud crash to find out what was occurring. Mr. Weiss remained to maintain the minyan when he heard gunfire.

The synagogue door was unlocked routinely on the Sabbath. "We prided ourselves on having our doors open" to everyone, he explained. Minyans now are not so readily assembled since the attack. "We don't have the same attendance from those members who were very reliably there. Because they have been killed." Seven people, beyond the eleven murdered, were wounded in the attack, five of whom were police officers.

Officer Daniel Mead testified he had reported to duty when he heard the call of an active shooter at the synagogue which led to himself and his partner rushing to the scene. When Officer Mead cautiously turned a corner in front of a glass entrance, he was immediately met by gunfire. "When I stepped out, stuff hit the fan. I can remember plain as day. I can hear the shot. I can see the muzzle flash. This all happened so quick."