Good morning. (If you don’t already get California Today delivered to your inbox, here’s the sign-up.) The shooting at a Poway synagogue on Saturday has touched off a tragic but inevitable series of reactions, including confusion, horror, grief and resolve within a mourning community. And then comes a discussion about how to prevent anything like this from happening again. In the wake of past mass shootings, that’s typically included calls for even tighter gun control in the state that already has among the strictest gun laws in the nation. [Read about the gun control debate after the Thousand Oaks shooting.] This time, that response has been more muted.<doc-sep>New details have emerged in the attack on a Poway synagogue over the weekend that killed one woman and left three others wounded. Prosecutors say the suspect, John T. Earnest, legally purchased the weapon used in the attack, which was captured on surveillance video. He has pleaded not guilty. Authorities have not yet determined whether he will face the death penalty. Here is what we know from the pages of the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times: What do prosecutors say about the attack? Deputy Dist. Atty. Leonard Trinh told a judge Tuesday that Earnest was wearing a tactical vest when he entered the synagogue and had with him a semiautomatic rifle and five 10-round magazines. Advertisement The prosecutor said Earnest encountered Lori Gilbert-Kaye in the foyer of the building and shot her twice as she turned to flee. She died from her wounds. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein was the next person shot, the prosecutor said. Goldstein was wounded in both hands and lost the index finger on his right hand as a result. Trinh said the gunman turned toward a room where there were several people, including children, and fired his weapon. Among those in the room were Almog Peretz, 34, who suffered a gunshot wound to one leg, and his niece, Noya Dahan, 8, who was struck in her face and one leg by bullet fragments. The gunman stopped firing, possibly because his gun jammed or he couldn’t eject the magazine to reload, authorities said. Several people chased the shooter out of the synagogue, including an Army veteran who charged at him and an off-duty Border Patrol agent who fired several rounds at the shooter’s fleeing vehicle. Much of that was caught on surveillance video, the prosecutor said. Earnest was stopped by police on West Bernardo Drive, near Rancho Bernardo Road and the 15 Freeway, and taken into custody without a struggle. Trinh said a rifle, tactical vest, helmet and ammunition were recovered from the car. Inside the synagogue, 10 bullet casings were found. What have witnesses said? The prosecutors’ account builds on a dramatic recounting of the attack from Goldstein. Advertisement The rabbi froze in the lobby of his synagogue, startled by the stranger in sunglasses pointing a rifle at him. As the shots zoomed toward him, he raised his hands in defense before scrambling to gather the young children nearby and move them somewhere safe. “Miraculously, the gun jammed,” Goldstein recounted. “Lori took the bullet for all of us,” he said, adding that the shooting could have been deadlier. “[It] will forever scar me, but it’s going to remind me how vulnerable we are and how heroic each one of us can be,” he said. “No matter what happened, we are going to keep our freedom. We are going to grow from it.” Advertisement Gilbert-Kaye, 60, died of at least one gunshot wound. Goldstein said he did not see her get shot and did not know whether she jumped in front of him to save him, as some witnesses have claimed. Where did he get the weapon? Dist. Atty. Summer Stephan said Earnest, 19, bought the rifle legally. She would not elaborate on whether he purchased it out of state or in California before state law changed this year to ban rifle sales to anyone under 21. Will Earnest face the death penalty? On the question of seeking the death penalty, Stephan said she has spoken with some victims and families but would not say whether they have asked her to pursue the ultimate penalty on the murder count or a lesser penalty of life in prison with no possibility of parole. In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order putting a moratorium on executions while he is in office and providing a reprieve for the 737 inmates on California’s death row. That decision, however, does not prevent prosecutors from seeking the death penalty when they believe it is appropriate, because it is still state law. Advertisement RELATED: This is the Army veteran who chased the gunman out of the California synagogue » Prosecutors have to prove why a hate crime was committed by looking at the defendant’s words or actions before, during and after the killing, Stephan said. She said Earnest could get an additional 103 years to life if convicted of the extra charges against him. What do we know about a motive in the attack? Authorities say Earnest planned his attack on the Poway synagogue for weeks, inspired by horrific acts that preceded it: mass shootings at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and at two mosques in New Zealand. Authorities arrested Earnest soon after the shooting in Poway. Advertisement Earnest appears to have left a nine-page manifesto filled with racist rants and details of his personal life. The Rancho Peñasquitos resident wrote that he is a nursing student from the “depths” of California. In the document titled “an open letter,” Earnest allegedly said he was inspired by Brenton Tarrant, the Australian white nationalist who is accused of killing 50 people in attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15. It was the worst mass shooting in that country’s modern history. That shooting, the author wrote, led to his decision a month ago to attack the Chabad in Poway. “How long did it take you to plan the attack? Four weeks. Four weeks ago, I decided I was doing this. Four weeks later, I did it,” the manifesto said. Advertisement An anti-Semitic letter revealed the author’s “disgust” for Jews and a desire to kill them. Earnest, who is white, allegedly said he was willing to sacrifice his future “for the sake of my people.” The suspect also championed Robert Bowers — who is accused of killing 11 people and wounding six more in the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh six months ago — as well as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. He identifies himself as a man of European descent. He does not claim any political labels, but asserts that Jews seek to “doom” the white race. In the screed, which is filled with quotes from the Bible, Earnest also appears to take credit for an arson attack at an Escondido mosque the week after the New Zealand shootings. Advertisement “To our great shame, he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetrated on Jewish people for centuries,” the man’s family said in an open letter. “How our son was attracted to such darkness is a terrifying mystery to us.”<doc-sep>The 19-year-old suspect in last month's deadly shooting spree at a Poway synagogue in Southern California was charged by federal officials Thursday with 109 counts of hate crimes in addition to state murder and attempted murder charges. "We will not allow our community members to be hunted in their houses of worship where they should feel free and safe to exercise their right to practice their religion," U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said in announcing the charges. John Timothy Earnest was arrested after walking into the Chabad of Poway on April 27, the final day of Passover, and opening fire with a rifle on the crowded synagogue. Prosecutors say Earnest killed a woman, Lori Kaye, and wounded an 8-year-old girl, her uncle and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was leading the service. More:The last day of Passover: Two families, one shared tragedy at Poway synagogue Authorities say he fired at least eight shots in the synagogue before fleeing. He surrendered peacefully on a roadside near Poway after calling police to announce his location. The federal complaint filed Thursday in San Diego charged Earnest with 109 counts including 54 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion and 54 counts of hate crime acts. Brewer said the federal counts amount to "one count for every person in the synagogue on April 27 including 12 children.” Each count, he said, is eligible for the death penalty. California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium in March on state executions while he is in office. Federal prosecutors said Earnest "acted violently with hatred toward others ... this was planned." More:One Jewish, one Christian: How the California synagogue shooting tore apart two congregations Last month, Earnest pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and attempted murder. In a separate case, he has pleaded not guilty to burning a mosque in nearby Escondido. Prosecutors say Earnest expressed his “intent to harm Jews” in an online posting. He also acknowledged setting a fire that charred a wall of the Escondido mosque and scrawling graffiti praising the gunman who killed 50 people at two New Zealand mosques last month. More:Poway synagogue shooting: Congregants heed call to 'fill the synagogue' days after tragedy His online activity showed that Earnest, an accomplished student, athlete and musician, had avidly embraced white supremacist and anti-Semitic views. .<doc-sep>
cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";} A California nursing student accused of a deadly shooting spree in a San Diego-area synagogue and arson at a nearby mosque was charged on Thursday with 109 counts of federal hate crimes and civil rights violations, prosecutors said.John Earnest, 19, was already charged in state court with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder in the April 27 attack at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, which left one worshipper dead and three others wounded, including a rabbi.In the federal complaint, Earnest faces one count for each of the people in the synagogue at the time of the shooting, including 12 children, U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said. "The complaint alleges the defendant violently targeted members of the synagogue and mosque for no other reason than his hatred of the Jewish people and those of the Muslim faith," Brewer said at a news conference.Earnest pleaded not guilty to the state charges, and to one count of arson on a house of worship stemming from a pre-dawn fire that damaged the Islamic Center of Escondido on March 24. No one was injured in the blaze.Earnest, who was enrolled at the California State University at San Marcos, was arrested shortly after the synagogue shooting north of San Diego. Authorities linked him to the arson through an online manifesto in which they say he claimed responsibility for setting fire to the mosque.The author of the violently anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim screed also professed to have drawn inspiration from the gunman who killed 50 people at two mosques in New Zealand earlier in March.The state charges allege that the synagogue shooting was perpetrated as a hate crime. If convicted of those charges, Earnest would face life in prison without parole, or the death penalty.In the separate federal criminal complaint filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Diego, Earnest was charged with 54 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and bodily injury, plus 54 counts of violating federal hate-crime statutes, Brewer said.Earnest also was charged with causing damage to religious property involving use of a dangerous weapon or fire.Authorities said Earnest stalked into the Poway synagogue during Sabbath prayers on the last day of the week-long Jewish Passover holiday and opened fire, killing Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60. The rabbi, one of three others wounded in the attack, was shot in the hand and lost an index finger.The gunman's weapon apparently jammed and he was chased from the temple by a former Army sergeant in the congregation, then sped away in a car as an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent shot at the getaway vehicle. Earnest pulled over and surrendered to police soon afterward.