One Person Dead After US Synagogue "Hate Crime" Shooting

28 April 2019, 08:49

Synagogue members stand outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue
Synagogue members stand outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue. Picture: PA

One person has died and three others injured after a gunman opened fire during a Passover celebration at a synagogue in California.

A woman has died in a shooting at a synagogue in Poway, north of San Diego in California.

The synagogue was hosting a Passover celebration at the time of the shooting.

A 19-year-old man has been arrested.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore told reporters that his department will work with the FBI and the city of Escondido to investigate the man's possible connection to an arson attack on a mosque last month.

Rabbi Yonah Fradkin said: "In the face of senseless hate, we commit to live proudly as Jews in this glorious country."

Responding to the shooting, US President Donald Trump said that the shooting "obviously looks right now like a hate crime" and called it "hard to believe".

The President also offered his "deepest sympathies" to those affected.

The shooting comes six months after a shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in October which left 11 people dead.