Pittsburgh was shaken Saturday morning when an armed man, Robert Bowers, shot and killed 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Victims of the shooter ranged in ages 54 to 97, multiple outlets reported.

When police arrived on the scene, Bowers exchanged gunfire with the officers, resulting in more injuries. Bowers was eventually shot by police and hospitalized., and has now been charged with 29 federal crimes, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“On Saturday, October 27, 2018, at 8:05 p.m., U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell signed a criminal complaint charging Robert Bowers of Baldwin, Pa., with 29 counts setting forth federal crimes of violence and firearms offenses,” the statement reads. “The crimes of violence are based upon the federal civil rights laws prohibiting hate crimes. The FBI in Pittsburgh is leading the investigation.”

According to the statement, Bowers faces 11 counts of obstruction of exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and four resulting in bodily injury to an officer, 11 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence and three counts of use and discharge of a firearm during and relation to a crime of violence.

Bowers is believed to be motivated by anti-semitism, having posted a series of  comments targeting Jewish individuals on the online forum, Gab, several days before and leading right up to the attack in one of Pittsburgh’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. For many residents of Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas, the events of Oct. 27 still feel surreal.

“Tragic. You know, the realization that people target houses of worship,” said Justin Rhodes, youth pastor at the Waynesburg First Assembly of God, a Christian Church in Waynesburg. “Because usually there are a lot of people there and they are not expecting it.”

Rhodes said that in recent years, First Assembly has increased its basic security measures, including adding a security team, locks on windows and different “defense mechanisms in place if people need to use any of them.” Soon after the attack in Pittsburgh, President Donald Trump told reporters that had Tree of Life had an armed security guard, the casualties would not have been as severe.

“Just like politicians, a lot of religious places are targeted, right? We’ve seen that over the past few years,” said Rhodes.

Some believe Pittsburgh will now have a voice in the national debate over gun control, having experienced a mass shooting like other communities that have appeared in the news in recent years: New Town, Connecticut; Las Vegas, Nevada and Parkland, Florida, to name a small portion. With the attack completing a week that also included pipe bombs mailed to prominent politicians, national media outlets have reported on a country divided by partisanship and fear.

Rhodes doesn’t think the solution will be as simple as gun control.

“I think guns are targeted a lot, but I think we need to think about media responsibility,” Rhodes said. “I think we need to think about psychiatric responsibility; I’ve noticed every one of these guys is on some type of psych meds.”

When asked for comment on how the city has coped with becoming part of the national conversation of gun violence, Public Affairs Officer for FBI Pittsburgh Catherine Policicchio said the situation was still “raw,” and the question was “inappropriate” at this time.

Regardless, communities in Pittsburgh have united both physically and via social media during the last week to offer support and uplift the Steel City.

Rhodes said First Assembly took time out of Sunday’s sermon to pray for the families of the victims and reflect on the events.

“The government needs to help and the church needs to help,” said Rhodes. “We need to make sure we are connecting with people and not letting them get in this lone wolf place…the responsibility lays on all of us.”