Armed with a semiautomatic rifle, a gunman on Saturday entered a suburban San Diego County synagogue while congregants were celebrating Passover and opened fire — killing one person and injuring three, including a rabbi, in what authorities believe was a hate-motivated crime.
Authorities later arrested a 19-year-old connected with the shooting.
The gunman entered Chabad of Poway, California, on Chabad Way at about 11:20 a.m. on Saturday morning and began firing.
An unidentified off-duty border patrol agent who was inside Chabad of Poway synagogue at the time of the incident fired back at the shooter — but missed him, Fox News reported. But the patrol agent did strike the man’s getaway vehicle, authorities said.
On Twitter, President Donald Trump mentioned the incident and also praised the off-duty agent for the heroic actions he took during the violent scene:
Thoughts and prayers to all of those affected by the shooting at the Synagogue in Poway, California. God bless you all. Suspect apprehended. Law enforcement did outstanding job. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2019
Sincerest THANK YOU to our great Border Patrol Agent who stopped the shooter at the Synagogue in Poway, California. He may have been off duty but his talents for Law Enforcement weren’t!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2019
BREAKING: NBC San Diego reports that an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who was in the Poway synagogue opened fire on the suspect and prevented the attack from being significantly worse.
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 27, 2019
Suspect in California synagogue shooting reportedly inspired by New Zealand mosque massacre https://t.co/g75Qe8THel pic.twitter.com/jptRBPD7oB
— New York Post (@nypost) April 28, 2019
An off-duty border patrol agent inside the Poway, CA synagogue opens fire on the shooter, hitting his getaway vehicle.
Our @CBP agents step up to protect and defend even off-duty. God bless our brave agents!
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) April 27, 2019
The gunman responsible for the rampage was identified as John T. Earnest. He is said to be a resident of Rancho Penasquitos.
Homicide detectives have been questioning him, according to The Los Angeles Times. It appears the individual “wrote a letter posted on the internet filled with anti-Semitic screeds,” the LA Times also noted.
“In the letter, he also talked about planning the attack” some four weeks earlier.
Related: ‘Hatred Will Not Have a Place Anywhere’; Pittsburgh Officials Reveal Massacre Details
Steve Vaus, the mayor of Poway, said the shooting was a “hate crime” based on statements the shooter was heard making as he entered the synagogue.
Some 100 people were in the synagogue at the time.
“As you can imagine, it was an extremely chaotic scene with people running everywhere when we got here,” said the mayor, the LA Times also reported.
Poway, north of San Diego, is a city of approximately 50,000 residents.
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