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Synagogue Shooting Investigated As A Hate Crime

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

In Southern California, as worshipers were gathered at a synagogue to celebrate the last day of Passover, a gunman opened fire in what is being investigated as a hate crime. One person was killed in the shooting. Three others were injured. Authorities identified the gunman as a 19-year-old male from San Diego. We're joined now by NPR's Nathan Rott, who's been covering this story. He's in Poway, Calif., the suburb of San Diego where the synagogue is located. Nate, what more do we know about what happened there yesterday?

NATHAN ROTT, BYLINE: So authorities are still piecing it all together. But they say that the gunman entered the Chabad of Poway synagogue during a morning service yesterday and shot an AR-style rifle at some of the congregants. His gun may have jammed or had an issue, though, authorities say, because he soon fled the scene and then later called himself in, surrendering to authorities.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So obviously with this happening at a place of worship, authorities have said they are looking at this as a hate crime.

ROTT: Yeah, local officials are calling it as much, though authorities have not definitively determined that that is the cause yet. Investigators are looking into a manifesto the gunman may have published online before the attack, where he also claims to have started a fire at a mosque last month.

I talked to one person last night who's good friends with many of the synagogue's congregants and one of the victims. And she said that people are telling her that the gunman also yelled some anti-Semitic slurs when he entered the synagogue. We should say that has not been confirmed yet by authorities.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Nate, what do we know about the victims?

ROTT: A 60-year-old woman is the only person who died. Her name was Lori Gilbert-Kaye. Fellow synagogue members described her as being an active, generous member of the congregation. And the San Diego Union-Tribune is actually reporting that she jumped in front of the rabbi during the shooting to protect him.

That rabbi was among the three others who were injured. He will likely lose a finger, medical staff say. The other two, a child and a man, were injured by shrapnel from the shooting, though neither of those injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I imagine you've been talking to people. What are they telling you?

ROTT: You know, the mood here is sort of - I guess I would say mirroring the trajectory of other tragic shootings I've been to, where there's that shock and anger, which gives way to sadness and even strength. I talked to a woman named Virginia Dematatis (ph) last night after she dropped a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial across the street from the synagogue. There were - there was a stitched cloth around it that said, we stick together. Here she is.

VIRGINIA DEMATATIS: I just want to show the message, we stick together. We're a country that needs to be woven together, not pulled apart. That's all.

ROTT: I should say, there is some nervousness here too. Law enforcement has stepped up patrols and security at all houses of worship this morning given how these sort of tragedies are becoming all too common.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, I mean, we can think of the attacks in Sri Lanka and in Christchurch, New Zealand.

ROTT: Yeah. And, I mean, this shooting actually happened on the six-month anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I talked to an interfaith leader in this community last night about that trend. His name is Yusef Miller. And it was his mosque that was lit on fire last month. And he said it's hard to feel safe.

YUSEF MILLER: It seems like it's been back-to-back lately. But we won't live in fear. And our Jewish brothers and sisters are a primary example of how you do not live in fear.

ROTT: Miller also said that he and other members of the interfaith community are banding together to try to fight this type of hate.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: NPR's Nathan Rott in Poway, Calif. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Nathan Rott is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, where he focuses on environment issues and the American West.