Valley leaders react to synagogue massacre with horror, sadness

October 28, 2018 at 12:10a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Local members of the Jewish community and elected officials reacted with sadness and horror to the mass shooting Saturday morning in a Pittsburgh synagogue that left at least 11 dead.

According to officials, a gunman entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and started shooting. In addition to those killed, others were wounded, including several law enforcement officers. A suspect is in custody.

“On this holy day of Shabbat, a day for rest and peace, our hearts are broken,” Youngstown Area Jewish Federation Executive Vice President Andrew Lipkin and Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, director of community relations and government affairs, said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims in Pittsburgh and with the entire Jewish community there as they cope with this unthinkable horror.”

“We have been in touch with our partners at the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, and we are offering any support possible,” they said.

“While we have no reason to believe there is any particular local threat, we are monitoring the unfolding situation carefully and our security team at the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation is working closely with law enforcement to add patrols,” they said.

Area state and national elected officials also weighed in on the massacre.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, call the Pittsburgh shootings a “horrible anti-Semitic attack. There’s too much hatred. We must all push back on it and call it out.”

Richard Cordray, Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, said he is “horrified by the senseless acts of violence at the Pittsburgh synagogue. My heart is with the victims and their families.”

But, Cordray said, “We’re not helpless to stop these shootings. We must take action. We can no longer sit idly by as gun violence plagues our nation.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, said he is praying for all of those affected by the attack.

“No American should ever be afraid to practice their religion. This evil and cowardly act has no place in any civilized society - especially here in America, where we are the guardian of the gate of religious freedom for the world. It must be universally condemned,” said Johnson, who praised the first responders who took quick and decisive action.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called the shootings “devastating news.”

“Our hearts break for everyone involved and we are grateful to the first responders who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others. No one should have to fear for their lives in their place of worship. We stand with the Jewish community and all of Pittsburgh today. We will not tolerate hate and violence against our neighbors,” said Brown.

“The violence against the Tree of Life congregation Saturday was horrific. It is an assault on the liberties that our country and Commonwealth were founded to protect,” said Pennsylvania Atty. General Josh Shapiro.

“When any one community is targeted with violence, intimidation or discrimination it threatens all of us and must be condemned. That this attack took place in a house of worship, where congregants seek safety and peace, is particularly perverse and is an attempt to intimidate people of faith. That attempt will never succeed,” he said.

“I’m proud to stand with the brave men and women in law enforcement who put their lives at risk to save others today. I am profoundly grateful to them for their bravery,” he said.

“My prayers are with the victims of this heinous act and the loved ones left behind who grieve for them. As the congregants of Tree of Life, the people of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvanians across our Commonwealth grapple with this latest atrocity over the coming days and weeks, we must act to quell this senseless violence. There will be hard conversations ahead, looking at both our words and our laws, but they are critical for us to heal and move forward together,” Shapiro concluded.