Source: NurPhoto / Getty

On Saturday morning (Oct. 29), 11 members of the Tree of Life synagogue were brutally gunned down on Saturday morning. Their murderer, Robert Bowers, 46, has been charged with hate crimes. 

Reports CNN:

“These incidents usually occur in other cities,” Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich told reporters Saturday. “Today, the nightmare has hit home in the city of Pittsburgh.”

Bowers is charged with 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder and multiple counts of two hate crimes: obstruction of the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and obstruction of the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, authorities said, citing a sealed criminal complaint.

“The crimes of violence are based upon the federal civil rights laws prohibiting hate crimes,” said Scott Brady, US Attorney, and Bob Jones, the FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, in a statement.

Domestic terrorism is very real—call it what it is. If convicted, Bowers can face the death penalty.

That would be getting off easy.

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Photo: Getty