BREAKING: Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter found guilty on 63 counts, prosecutors seek death penalty
The jury deliberated for less than one day, and will next weigh if Bowers should be sentenced to death.
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The jury deliberated for less than one day, and will next weigh if Bowers should be sentenced to death.
On Friday, Robert Bowers was found guilty by a jury on all 63 charges stemming from the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue which saw the deaths of 11 worshipers.
The charges included 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death. The jury deliberated for less than one day, and will next weigh if Bowers should be sentenced to death, according to ABC News.
On October 27, 2018, Bowers stormed into the Tree of Life synagogue, fatally shooting 11 people inside in what has been called the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history. Bowers allegedly told investigators that he wanted to kill Jewish people.
Bowers offered to plead guilty if prosecutors took the death penalty off the table, but they refused.
Prosecutors said Bowers moved "methodically" through the synagogue and shot many of his victims at close range, armed with a semi-automatic rifle.
During opening statements in May, defense attorney Judy Clarke admitted that Bowers had been the shooter and said he "shot every person he saw … and injured first responders who came to their rescue."
"There will be no question that this was a planned act and that he killed 11 people," she said, but she asked the jurors to "scrutinize his intent."
The jury was comprised of 11 women and seven men, including an intensive care nurse, a new father, and a veteran. The penalty phase of the case will begin in around a week.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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