SAN DIEGO — A man walked into a Chabad synagogue near San Diego and opened fire, leaving one woman dead and three other people injured on Saturday, the last day of Passover. The suspect, John T. Earnest, 19, of San Diego, was in custody, authorities said. Earnest is a student at the California State University San Marcos, the school's president said. "This individual was with an AR-type assault weapon and opened fire on the people inside the synagogue," said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said. Danny Almog was inside the synagogue when the gunfire erupted and people went to the floor. "And I look to the entrance and I see a guy — he was like 5'6, 5'7, white, with like glasses with a vest on and I think it was an M16," Almog told reporters. “And he was just standing there, like shooting, shooting, shooting everybody." Almog said he started screaming for his kids, who were in another room. His father-in-law grabbed one of his children and ran. A friend, Almog Peretz, "grabbed all the kids in his hands and was just running, running towards the exit." Almog called Peretz, who he said was shot in the leg while escaping with the children, a hero. He said they fled through a back door. As the gunman fled the Chabad of Poway, an off-duty Border Patrol agent in the area fired at him, hitting his car, Gore and San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said at a news conference. Nisleit said a San Diego police officer was en route to the scene when he overheard on a scanner that a suspect had called the California Highway Patrol to report that he was involved in the shooting and gave his location. The officer went to the location and “clearly saw the suspect in his vehicle, the suspect pulled over, jumped out of his car with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody" Nilsei said. Police saw a rifle sitting on the front passenger seat, he said. Sheriff's detectives and FBI investigators were examining a possible link between the suspect and a March 24 arson fire at a mosque in Escondido, a city just north of Poway. Authorities said graffiti left at the scene of the fire referenced the March 15 attack in New Zealand that killed 50 Muslim worshippers. "We’re currently working with the Escondido Police Department and the FBI to determine Earnest’s possible involvement in the arson at the mosque in Escondido about a month ago," Gore told reporters. Among the four people shot was a 61-year-old woman who died, said Michael Katz, a trauma surgeon at Palomar Medical Center. A girl and two men, including a rabbi who was shot in the hand, were stable, he said. Gore, who called the shooting a "senseless act of tragedy," would not release details of the suspect or a possible motive, saying he is being interviewed by police and the FBI. Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said in a phone interview with MSNBC that “it was a hate crime, and that will not stand." "We are grateful to those in the congregation there that engaged the shooter and prevented this from being a much more horrific incident," Vaus said. Members of the Chabad synagogue hug as they gather near the Altman Family Chabad Community Center, Saturday, April 27, 2019 in Poway, California. Hayne Palmour IV / The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP Chabad of Poway had advertised an 11 a.m. "Passover Holiday Celebration" online. Saturday is the traditional weekly day of Jewish Sabbath,, and this Saturday was also the final day of Passover, a week-long holiday marking the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in ancient Egypt. "My deepest sympathies go to the people that were affected, their families, their loved ones,” President Donald Trump said Saturday. "Obviously it looks right now, based on my last conversations, it looks like a hate crime," he said. Vaus tweeted that Trump called him from Air Force One and offered assistance. 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 The Chabad synagogue serves as a community center for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Chabads in general are known for reaching out to non-Orthodox Jews to encourage them to partake in Jewish life and join some celebrations. In October, a man fatally shot 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Suspected gunman Robert Bowers, 46, is charged with federal hate crime and other charges. Poway is a city of around 50,000 north of San Diego. "I want you to know, this is not Poway. The Poway that I know comes together just as we did a few weeks ago, in an inter-faith event,” Vaus said at a news conference. "We always walk with our arms around each other, and we will walk through this tragedy with our arms around each other." Law enforcement in other cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, said they were closely monitoring the situation. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington said it is “is shocked and alarmed at the second armed attack on a synagogue in the United States in six months.” "Now our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones," Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield said in a statement. "But moving forward this must serve as yet another wake-up call that antisemitism is a growing and deadly menace,” she said. "The Holocaust is a reminder of the dangers of unchecked antisemitism and the way hate can infect a society. All Americans must unequivocally condemn it and confront it in wherever it appears." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the shooting, calling it "an attack on the heart of the Jewish people." "The international community must step up the struggle against antisemitism," he said. Almog said there was "quite a bit" of people in the synagogue when the shooting started.<doc-sep>LOS ANGELES — The gunman entered the synagogue on Saturday yelling anti-Semitic slurs, and opened fire with an A.R. 15-style gun. He paused when the rabbi of the congregation tried to talk with him. But he fired again, shooting the rabbi in the hand. His attack left a 60-year-old woman dead, the rabbi wounded and a 34-year-old man and a girl with shrapnel wounds. It was the Sabbath and the last day of Passover, a holiday that celebrates Jewish freedom. The shooting, at Chabad of Poway, about 25 miles north of San Diego, is the most recent in a series of deadly attacks at houses of worship, including the mass shooting at mosques in New Zealand last month and the church bombings in Sri Lanka this past week. It came exactly six months after one of the worst acts of violence against the American Jewish community in decades left 11 dead in a Pittsburgh synagogue. [Update: Rabbi injured in synagogue shooting says “terror will not win.”] Local officials called the shooting in Poway, Calif., a hate crime. The gunman, whom officials identified as John Earnest, a 19-year-old resident of San Diego, screamed that Jews were ruining the world as he stormed the synagogue, according to a government official with knowledge of the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.<doc-sep>The San Diego County Sheriff's Department released the following: Sheriff Bill Gore would like to update the public with the following information. Detectives from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department along with members of several local, state and federal agencies have been working throughout the night, interviewing approximately 100 people who were victims and witnesses to the shooting that occurred at the Chabad of Poway. Detectives also served several search warrants and processed the crime scene at the synagogue, as well as the suspect's residence in San Diego and his vehicle. The investigation is continuing as detectives process evidence and interview additional witnesses. The suspect, 19-year-old John T. Earnest, was booked into custody on one count of murder in the first degree and three counts of attempted murder in the first degree. There is no indication at this point in the investigation that Earnest was part of an organized group. We believe he acted alone and without outside support in carrying out the attack. We are continuing to explore every investigative avenue to bring out all the facts in the case. The Sheriff's Department would like to acknowledge another act of courage that occurred at the synagogue yesterday. Oscar Stewart, who is fifty-one-years-old and resides in Rancho Bernardo, rushed at the shooting suspect, chasing after the suspect as he fled the synagogue to a vehicle parked nearby. Mr. Stewart caught up to the vehicle as the suspect was about to drive away. While Mr. Stewart was near the vehicle, an off-duty Border Patrol Agent caught up to the vehicle and yelled for Mr. Stewart to get out of the way. The Border Patrol Agent then fired a weapon in the suspect's direction striking the vehicle as it drove away. Mr. Stewart risked his life to stop the shooter and saved lives in the process. The Sheriff’s Department continues to express its sincerest condolences to those affected by yesterday’s crime. Our hearts go out to those going through this difficult time.<doc-sep>POWAY, Calif. (Reuters) - A 19-year-old man accused of opening fire on Sabbath worshippers in a deadly shooting rampage at a Southern California synagogue is believed to have acted alone, without help from any organized group, authorities said on Sunday. Police say the gunman walked into the suburban San Diego synagogue late on Saturday morning, the last day of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover, and killed one woman and wounded three other people inside, using an assault-style rifle. According to authorities, the suspect, John Earnest, then fled in a car before calling police to hand himself in. “We believe he acted alone and without outside support in carrying out the attack,” San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said in a statement. The suspect, who is also under investigation for a mosque arson, has been booked into custody on one count of murder in the first degree and three counts of attempted murder in the first degree, Gore said. At an emotional news conference on Sunday, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein choked back tears as he spoke of the slain victim, Lori Kaye, whom he had known for 25 years. “She was a pioneer member from our congregation,” he said, his left arm in a sling and his right hand bandaged. “Lori had unconditional love for all.” Goldstein had surgery at a hospital after his right index finger was blown away by the gunman. He recounted how after he saw the carnage, he grabbed a prayer shawl, wrapped it around his bloody hands and addressed the congregation. “We are a Jewish nation that will stand tall, we will not let anyone or anything take us down – terrorism like this will not take us down,” Goldstein said he told the worshippers. The other two wounded in the attack on the Congregation Chabad temple in the town of Poway, about 23 miles (37 km) north of San Diego, were an 8-year-old Israeli girl and her uncle. Their family had moved to the United States in search of a safer life after their home in Sderot on the Gaza border was hit several times by Palestinian rocket attacks. The sheriff said they were struck by shrapnel but were “doing well” at a hospital. Goldstein said U.S. President Donald Trump had called him to offer condolences on behalf of the American people. Slideshow ( 6 images ) MOSQUE FIRE INVESTIGATED After the shooting, the suspect fled in a car, escaping an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot at the getaway vehicle but missed the suspect. The suspect pulled over and surrendered to police officers a short time later. The teenage suspect, who had no prior criminal record, is the apparent author of a “manifesto” who claimed to have set a nearby mosque on fire last month and professed drawing inspiration from the gunman who killed nearly 50 people at two mosques in New Zealand. Gore said on Saturday that the police and FBI were investigating Earnest’s possible involvement in the March 24 pre-dawn arson fire at the Islamic Center of Escondido, a town about 15 miles (24 km) north of Poway. No one was hurt at the mosque fire. Slideshow ( 6 images ) Saturday’s bloodshed in Poway unfolded six months to the day after 11 worshippers were killed and six other people wounded by a gunman who stormed the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh yelling: “All Jews must die.” The assailant in that massacre, said to be the deadliest attack ever against Jews on U.S. soil, was also arrested. The Passover violence came amid an upsurge in reports of anti-Semitism nationwide and abroad and followed a recent spate of deadly attacks on places of worship around the world. Suicide bombings during Easter Sunday services at several churches in Sri Lanka killed more than 250 people. A gunman who opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15 left 49 people dead and more than 40 wounded, some as they knelt in prayer. Gore told reporters that authorities were investigating Saturday’s attack as a potential hate crime. A rambling, violently anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim screed written by an individual calling himself John Earnest was found posted online, with links to the content posted on a far-right forum on the internet message board 8chan. In that letter, the author also claimed credit for the Escondido mosque arson, which was put out by congregants who were sleeping inside and woke up to the smell of smoke. Local media at the time reported that a message scrawled on the driveway of the mosque mentioned the New Zealand massacre. Earnest was enrolled at California State University in San Marcos. In a statement, the university’s president said the school was “dismayed and disheartened” to learn Earnest was a student and was working with the sheriff’s department. Earnest attended Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, where his father taught physics before retiring in 2016, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.<doc-sep>
A woman was fatally shot and three others were injured in a shooting during a Passover celebration at a San Diego synagogue Saturday, officials said. The shooting happened about 11:30 a.m. local time at the Chabad of Poway synagogue. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old John Earnest of San Diego, appeared to fire more than 10 rounds before leaving the synagogue, a law enforcement source told ABC News, noting that it all happened very quickly. "[We were] outside in front of our house and heard about six gunshots, a pause, some yelling and then another six or seven gunshots," neighbor Chris Folts said, adding that he went inside to call 911. During a news conference, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said that the shooter had an AR-15 style assault weapon. The four victims were transported to Palomar Medical Center, where one of them, a 60-year-old woman, died. She was identified by the synagogue as Lori Gilbert Kaye. The three others, including a 1-year-old girl, are in stable condition, said Dr. Michael Katz, a trauma doctor where the victims were taken. The sheriff said “some digital evidence” possibly ties Earnest to last month's mosque arson in Escondido, California, but would not elaborate. While authorities are reviewing writings Earnest allegedly posted online, they have confirmed he has no known connection to white supremacist groups. Minoo Anvari, whose husband was inside the synagogue, said that she was with a customer when he called her. Anvari said that he told her, "One of my friends ... is down. They took her to [the] hospital. The rabbi lost two fingers. But in spite of bleeding, he was trying to finish his speech. He was telling all the people who know him, 'Be strong. ... God helps us, God helps [our] country.'" Katz said the rabbi and the deceased woman were hit by "shrapnel from bullets." An off-duty border patrol agent was inside the synagogue during the shooting. The agent chased Earnest outside as he attempted to flee and fired at the alleged gunman, striking his vehicle, Gore said. Earnest was taken into custody after a K-9 officer saw him on the freeway, after which he jumped out of his car and put his hands up, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said during the conference. Officers saw a rifle in the front seat of the Earnest's vehicle, he added. The mayor of Poway tweeted Saturday afternoon, saying "hate has no place in ANY community...least of all Poway." "The Poway I know comes together as we did just a few weeks ago... We always walk with our arms around each other and we will walk through this tragedy with our arms around each other," Mayor Pete Vaus said during the news conference. "We will get through this." President Donald Trump also tweeted about the incident, praising law enforcement for their "outstanding job." Relatives looking for their loved ones and synagogue-goers who were separated from the shooting were advised to go to Poway High School at 15500 Espola Road. The shooting comes six months to the day that 11 people were killed in a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. It also occurred on the last day of Passover in a synagogue whose members are part of one of the largest and most widely known Orthodox Jewish communities in the world. With the Chabad movement based in Brooklyn, New York, the New York Police Department said it was "closely monitoring" the situation and increasing patrols and presence at houses of worship out of an abundance of caution. ABC News' Christopher Donato contributed to this report.