this is bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world — i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines. a gunman opens fire in a synagogue in the us city of pittsburgh, it's reported there are multiple casualties. police say the shooter, who was inside the synagogue, is now in custody. he entered the building during a saturday morning service. ido i do not know if there was a bar m itzva h i do not know if there was a bar mitzvah or some type of special event but i would guess on a typical friday or saturday morning at tree of life, somewhere between 60 and 100 people. president trump says he's watching developments, telling reporters if there had been protection inside, the results may have been different. nobody knows exactly what took place, it is too soon, but this is a case where they had an armed guard in sight, they might have been able

to stop them immediately. police in the american city of pittsburgh, say a shooting at a synagogue, has caused multiple casualties. reports suggest several people may have been killed, though this hasn't been confirmed. the shooting happened at the tree of life synagogue, and the gunman is thought to be in custody. richard lister begins our coverage. heavily armed police converging on squirrel hill at reports that a man opened fire on the synagogue. a peaceful suburban neighbourhood transformed in moments by a gunman. tactical weapon units across the city, other officers sealed the area and began moving towards the building and its congregation as the attack continued. it is a suburb with a largejewish

population and it seems that the synagogue was deliberately targeted, residents still unsure of what was happening, were ushered to safety. right now, we have multiple casualties we're working on the situation, it is imperative that the neighbours in the community surrounding the tree of life synagogue, stay in their houses and stay in their houses. do not come out of your home right now, it is not safe. we will give you an update as soon as we get one. police say they found a large number of people sheltering in the basement and they were led to safety. my heart goes out to all of these families, this should not be happening period. it should not be happening in a synagogue, it should not be happening in our neighbourhood here in squirrel hill. as the area was made safe, they're able to recover the injured and the dead. the gunman is reported to have given himself up after exchanging with police. his motive is yet unclear.

megan mclachlan was campaigning for the democrats in the squirrell hill neighbourhood at the time. thank you for taking the time out. as in all clear been declared? maybe half an hour ago was when they said we could leave. 50 what half an hour ago was when they said we could leave. so what exactly did they say to you? just take us back to you getting into your car, what did they say? df to leave by a certain area? yes, i was running late for a certain area? yes, i was running late fora campaign, certain area? yes, i was running late for a campaign, house of us to be here at 10am, i got here around 10:15am and there were just cops everywhere and i was worried at first because it was at the place

was posted be at because it was the democratic, we're getting ready candace, i showed up and there was, and it was clear there down the street, i thought maybe it was someone, street, i thought maybe it was someone, aba had no idea what was in the door was locked and the house, the door was locked and the house, the democrat organisation, and they said that the door was locked for reason due to there being a shooter. and we're stuck there for two hours it was going on just a few blocks away from us. are you feeling? i live just a neighbourhood away from us. are you feeling? i livejust a neighbourhood over, i'm heartbroken. it was my favourite neighbourhood in the city, the most diverse, the most welcoming. it's just a great neighbourhood and i'm heartbroken for them today.

just a great neighbourhood and i'm heartbroken for them todaym just a great neighbourhood and i'm heartbroken for them today. it has a very strong jewish community. ill make yes, that is what the community is known for. there's always jewish, iam not is known for. there's always jewish, i am notjewish myself but it is something i embrace as a member of the community and i love seeing that about the community. it is so special and yeah, it is very much a pa rt special and yeah, it is very much a part of the community. so you are in lockdown for bob two —— for about two hours? for doing remote calling from the house and i was just, i two hours? for doing remote calling from the house and i wasjust, i do not know what to do. how i feel about calling people during this and i know a lot of people did try to call but once the news broke, kind of just

call but once the news broke, kind ofjust glued to our thoughts and try to figure out what was going on. were we in danger? did this person escape from the synagogue and was he walking around was back we had no idea what was going on. how did the police communicate with you during the time? i think twitter was what we we re the time? i think twitter was what we were looking at, i was looking at twitter, people are being called, someone was twitter, people are being called, someone was with into a police dispatch. there were a lot of ways that we are communicating with them ina that we are communicating with them in a variety of different ways. the family that you were sheltering with, when you're talking, at either of you ever experienced anything like this before? no. no. i don't think,... you said you're a bit nervous, because there is some police there was there something you would normally seem to show no. seeing? your mac now. nothing like

this. 0k. do you understand the local hospital obviously has taken some of the casualties, do you know if any friends or those close to you have been affected by this? no. i found that some of my friends were not there today. one of my friend synagogues, he was not there today. i'm probably going to go home and cry, to be honest and then, i'm going to go and see my brother and cry with them. that is probably what iam going cry with them. that is probably what i am going to do today. and just very quickly, if the police indicate that there would —— they would be talking to you? or is that it? no, i did not talk to the police like

that. is everything come now or is the security still there? is there still a presence there? there are helicopters, police presence, people are walking around but there are still police, i see a lot of bands playing by and i think i saw the salvation army go by at one point. there's still a lot of things going on down there. thank you very much for giving us some of your time. thank you. she was caught up in the police handling of that incident. well, in the past hour, president trump has been speaking to reporters — here's what he had to say. we have been following very closely

the events of squirrel hill, making a statement at the farmers of america, we're doing the future farmers and will be going there, some will be going with me and we will be making a major statement. it isa will be making a major statement. it is a terrible thing what is going on with hate and our country, frankly, it all over the world. something has to be done. something has to be done. it looks like the results are coming in and they are far more devastating than we originally thought. it was a shooter, they have to shooter, and the results were very devastating. we will be speaking to you at the conference in the future farmers of america conference and it is just a shame. to watch this and to see this, so

many years, so much of it, it is absolutely ashamed. this is, if they have protection inside, the results would have been a lot better. this isa would have been a lot better. this is a dispute that will always exist, i suspect, if they had some kind of protection inside the temple, maybe it could've been a much different situation. if he was able to do things, unfortunate that he should not been able to do. michael eisenberg is a member of the synagogue. he says the congregation has had training for active shooter situations. it was a major concern for me, for us, we it was a major concern for me, for us, we were it was a major concern for me, for us, we were working with the department of homeland security to

evaluate, and roots, ijust spoke to our maintenance person because were able to get out, the door was easily open from the inside to allow him to get out of the building. it was a major focus working with thejewish federation, a security expert on what to do in an active shooter situation. active shooter training, we working with the other synagogues on what to do if something horrific like this happened. who else have you talked to that was inside at the time of the shooting and what they told you so far? the main person, one person that i did speak to that i knew really well with the maintenance person, one of the maintenance person, one of the maintenance people there that has been there for 25 years, he's usually a very cool and collected person, he saw one of our congregants down and, but he knew that he was in the bathroom and was able to get out of the building again because these exit doors were

working well and i just again because these exit doors were working well and ijust can't tell you how thankful i am just too do that one piece of, one task of homeland security told us to do. because the past, you cannot pursue the exit doors? they not easily opened and now, he was able to get out. he could be alive because of this. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is in washington. so, we have heard from president trump, just take as please and update us in terms of the reaction at the moment and the united states. let mejust give at the moment and the united states. let me just give you one line of breaking news from law enforcement sources in pittsburgh saying that this man reported we shouted anti—semitic slurs as he was shooting at the synagogue. he was

armed with a possible ak—47, that is armed with a possible ak—47, that is a machine gun and two pistols. he said he barricaded himself in the room at the synagogue and three police officers were injured in arresting him after a manhunt that went on for some time in a residential area around the synagogue, and we still do not have confirmation of the numbers of people injured or killed in this attack, but we know this has been a fatal attack in the president speaking a short time ago just before he boarded air force one saying the effects of this incident we re saying the effects of this incident were more devastating than first thought. so it certainly appears that america now has to absorb the impact of another massive deadly shooting with all of the questions that raises already, the questions about gun control being touted and concerned about the nature of political debate, the divisiveness of the tone of politics in this

country, especially ten days out from the elections, whether that is actually doing some of the violence that we have seen in the same week as prominent political opponents of the president were mailed letter bombs. donald trump is swept away this connection with the gun control debate, and what sort of reaction has set into that? he very quickly, was asked the question of whether this was a no other example that demonstrated why gun control may need to be tightened up, but the president said that gun laws have little to do with it. i'm just going tojump in, we have some more information, live press conference. this was being said in pittsburgh. critical and serious in nature, three of the level one, level two trauma centres in the city of pittsburgh, you pmc, at this time, i

would like to say that we have established a phone number with the assistance to the fbi for any questions or the victims and families, that number is 412, 432, 4400. families, that number is 412,432, 4400. a victims assistance and reunification centre has been set up at chatham college, and 106 berry st, we will have grief counsellors there is one of the red cross, for there is one of the red cross, for the final plans of establishment of that centre. however, there are individuals working to have it up and running as soon as possible. a press conference will be held at the emergency operations centre at 4pm this afternoon, of which the elected

officials and first responders as well as the fbi, will give you an update. at this time, this has been considered a federal violation and a primary investigation agency will be the federal bureau of investigation, i would like to personally thank many of the first responders that have responded to this incident today to the police, ems, fbi, and numerous others that i can't even count how many first responders are here providing assistance. this will bea here providing assistance. this will be a link the crime scene, asking people that don't need to be in this area the please stay away from it. but the investigators and first responders can do theirjob. i will emphasise at this time, there

appears to be no active threat to the community and individual, that we believe the subject is responsible for this has been taken into custody. that is all i have. that is going to be part of the investigation. 0n the injuries, we believe that six injuries, four of this are police, so it is a total of six injuries. i will not discuss that until we are sure of the number. ido that until we are sure of the number. i do not want to get into that at this point. there is a lot of information that i'll be very cautious of what you hear and do not hear this time. like cautious of what you hear and do not hearthis time. like i cautious of what you hear and do not hear this time. like i say, cautious of what you hear and do not hearthis time. like i say, we cautious of what you hear and do not hear this time. like i say, we have numerous investigators here, that would ask if anyone has any information that they call that 402 —— four2,446

information that they call that 402 —— four 2,446 number and information that they call that 402 —— four2,446 numberand i information that they call that 402 —— four 2,446 number and i will put you in contact with the fbi. i do not have the answer as to how many people were inside. there was a service occurring. that is correct. however, we are setting up a very ha rd however, we are setting up a very hard perimeter around the crime scene hard perimeter around the crime scene and we ask individuals to stay away from that. so, there will be a secure away from that. so, there will be a secure presence around the crime scene, just to protect the integrity of the investigation. i do not want to get into that. i do not want to get into that. right now, we have one subject in custody from the scene, whether or not, all these investigations, we have to look into every imaginable fact to see if there's anyone else involved in this. there is no explosive

ordinance through the scene and there is no evidence of any ied user further threat. it is a very horrific crime scene. it is one of the worst that i've seen him have been on some plane crashes, is very bad. ido been on some plane crashes, is very bad. i do not want to get into that. there is a very active investigation going on right now. you will hear from myself, the fac, those in charge of the fbi, the elected officials. the next step is to secure officials. the next step is to secure the crime scene, the fbi has both assets from both western pennsylvania and they will be

running the investigation the crime scene running the investigation the crime scene with the support of the county police and the city of pittsburgh police. i have no idea. i like to also mention the state police, they have been instrumental in helping us out as well. as far as the injuries right now, we're at six injuries. it is an active investigation and obviously, we know who the gunman is in i'm not going to bring that up right now. as i mentioned before, this falls under hate crime, being it isa this falls under hate crime, being it is a jewish synagogue so it will basically be a federal investigation with the assistance of the local cou nty with the assistance of the local county and state police. the shooter was taken to the hospital and i will leave it at that. thank you very much. joining me is sarah sair who was in the area at the time.

danjohnson dan johnson is still with danjohnson is still with us, what struck you the most about this is that he himself said that things are very bad inside the synagogue. and let mejust remind very bad inside the synagogue. and let me just remind people about what donald trump said in his last week, also saying that event in pittsburgh are far more devastating. so does make you wonder what exactly authorities are having to deal with inside that synagogue. dahl yes, i think everyone is bracing for some really devastating news when the death toll is revealed here. we understand that 50 or 60 people were here at the service and with that confirmation there, from that official that six people were injured ina official that six people were injured in a four of those were

police officers responding to this, that says that two of the injured we re that says that two of the injured were people inside the synagogue. now it looks like there are going to bea number of now it looks like there are going to be a number of people who have lost their lives in that synagogue if the number wounded is two and we're talking about quite a lot of people involved, we do not know how many manage to escape uninjured, but i think in from the description, those who have been in there and he could toughen the emotional tone and that officials voice that this was going to bea officials voice that this was going to be a very grim death toll in america is going to have to absorb the impact of another devastating mass shooting which appears to have taken quite a number of lives. it is taking the authorities time to work through that seemed actually confirm how many people have died and who they are and presumably to inform theirfamilies before they are and presumably to inform their families before releasing that news more widely. i think that this

underlines exactly how serious this incident was this morning and how devastating the news is going to be when it is finally confirmed. and that other thing we have learned now is that this is classed as a hate crime. and the investigation is now being handed over to the fbi. yes, the federal bureau of investigations coming in to lead that this investigation, very quickly we got a picture that this appeared to have an anti—semitic element to it because it was the synagogue i was —— that was targeted. services were getting under way there, a large synagogue in a residential area that has a largejewish population reports of the gunman had shouted anti—semitic words as he launched this attack. we have learned to know more about the suspect himself, apart from the fact that he was caught in men treated in hospital. we have no information about his

background or identity early motivation, but i think we can read from the circumstances that this was certainly a religious hate element to this. particularly in anti—semitic element to it. 0bviously anti—semitic element to it. obviously the authorities will quickly be investigating this individual, his background and whatever previous incidents he may have been involved in, his social media will be of intense interest and will be scrutinised by the authority and probably by the media as well as soon as they get an idea on who this is. the official that was asked if this attack was launched by someone who attended the synagogue, he did not give an answer but we can definitely assume or read

that there is an anti—semitic element to this and that fits into a bigger picture of rising anti—semitic attacks across america. something that has raised concern, the president was asked about the tone of political debate, the divisive nature of politics here over the last few years, and particularly in the run—up to elections that happened in ten days. the president responded to one question by saying, it is a terrible thing that is going on in our country with hate. and something has to be done. we're expecting the president to speak more a little later this afternoon, due to addressing a rally in indiana and will hear more from him then and already the president referring to the hate problem in this country and saying that something has to be done. these sorts of questions that have to be raised and concern about guns, by political debate in the tone of that and whether that divisiveness could be fuelling political violence. the latest we have heard is that this is being classified as a hate crime, and pfb i will be leading this investigation. six people injured four including police, we do not know how many people have died.

do stay with us, you're watching bbc news. we arejoined by we are joined by a witness, shots of the police, those were on the scene around the synagogue in the tree of life, in the squirrel hill area of pittsburgh, pennsylvania. sarah is a witness, she joins us on the line, sarah, just tell us what happened when you are in the area. this take us through the events. when you are in the area. this take us through the eventslj when you are in the area. this take us through the events. ijust when you are in the area. this take us through the events. i just want to clarify that i did not witness anything happen, i just live to clarify that i did not witness anything happen, ijust live in the area, half a anything happen, ijust live in the area, halfa mile anything happen, ijust live in the area, half a mile away from where it happened and my boyfriend and i were just walking around in art general

area, a couple of blocks away and we did not even know what was happening. he had no idea anything was happening. some people started texting us and asking if we were 0k and some people, everyone has to stay in their residence not go out in the area which i think has been cleared now. but it is just a really sad atmosphere for everyone in the city right now. what is the area like is like the pictures we see, a lot of security, but it is very residential, very beautiful area. what is it like? yes, it is a very peaceful area, it is a really safe area, andi peaceful area, it is a really safe area, and i think anyone, i don't think anyone would expect that to happen. a lot of universities around the area, campus lights and stuff like that, just a very peaceful area and not what were you would expect a violent act to happen in any way shape orform. violent act to happen in any way shape or form. would you know about the synagogue itself? the tree of life synagogue? i have not heard a

lot about it, i've driven past a couple of times, being around the area. it is not like a really classy looking place or anything, pretty typical building, i don't think i know anyone who goes there that is in the news a lot, just a peaceful place to worship. it had a very open door policy, does it seem very welcoming? 0r didn't have a reputation for being welcoming? from what i understand, i believe so. i do not know a lot about it, but most of the places surrounding this area, it isa of the places surrounding this area, it is a very welcoming area, there are not a lot of things that happened where you feel kind of, hateful atmosphere anything like that, it's usually a very peaceful nice place, it is not something that i would have considered something like that to happen. so it is a

typical saturday within the jewish community, and the sabbat would of been taking place. the an saturdays are usually, the students in the area, are usually, the students in the area , you are usually, the students in the area, you just don't expect anything horrible to happen, you go about your day, you meet up with friends. you do not expect anything like this ever. i do not remember anything like this happening in my memory. ever. i do not remember anything like this happening in my memorylj like this happening in my memory.” understand that we just heard from the director of the pittsburgh public safety department and he spoke about some of the hospitals that are looking after some of the injured and those affected by the incident. he mentioned mercy hospital where we understand the suspect was taken to. is that fairly

close to the synagogue? it is close, probably within a mile or a mile and a half away, right next to the university that i attend, i have taken friends there for, it is a wonderful hospital. it is a trauma centre, they have a great reading in everything. wonderful medical care, and all the hospitals in the area are wonderful and provide people with the highest level of care. very quickly, the last message from lease was? the last thing i heard was, and the press conference that theyjust gave was that people are able to leave their houses and move around, but to stay out of that general area to not disturb