Nicholas Kamm / AFP
US President Donald Trump on Saturday offered his “deepest sympathies” after one person was killed and three others were injured when a gunman opened fire at a synagogue north of San Diego, California.
“At this moment it looks like a hate crime, but my deepest sympathies to all those affected and we’ll get to the bottom of it.
“Tonight, America’s heart is with the victims of the horrific synagogue shooting in California, just happened,” he told supporters at a rally in Wisconsin.
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“Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community. We forcefully condemn the evil of anti-Semitism and hate which must be defeated.”
The shooting in the town of Poway, north of San Diego, came exactly six months after a white supremacist killed 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue — the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in US history.
The suspect was identified by police as 19-year-old John Earnest.
In an open letter which was reviewed by AFP, Earnest spoke about his desire to defend white lineage.
He also paid tribute to Robert Bowers, who was behind the attack on the Tree of Life, and Brenton Tarrant, who was responsible for the March 15 mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead.
