that's what we think in squirrel hill. >> okay. david, yeah, i'm going to let you get ready for the next leg -- >> all right, everybody. that's what we are going to do as well. we will wait to get the official word from the public safety officer who should be coming to the microphone to give us the details and fact and figures we are always straining to get in these kinds of situation. anderson ecarr, former bush chief of staff. i want to get back to something the president said. i know you were listening as he was about to board air force one bound for a rally. he talked about the hate in our country, the hate in the world and how despicable it is. but he suggested that were there to have been somebody with protection as he described it inside of that religious house that perhaps that would have mitigated the carnage that we are seeing. that perhaps the only person who would have been injured if not killed would have been the shooter himself. it is a thought that not only is a thought, but it has been put into practice by many con

what role does it play in the squirrel hill community?> it's one of the many jewish synagogues in squirrel hill. there are many different types of synagogues. it's a very special place because it actually houses three different jewish congregations on saturday mornings. yesterday we believe that three different congregations were meeting inside. it's a symbol for the rest of the squirrel hill community. a tight-knit, welcoming, open arms, open doors kind of community. that's a special place that squirrel hill is. that's why i chose to live here. it's incredibly sad and tragic today. >> erica, walk us through what happened yesterday. what happened after you heard about it. >> i was actually getting ready to speak at a canvassing launch party and saw police barricades and then got the message two blocks up the street that a shooting had occurred at tree of life. we hunkered down and as soon as i could, i joined councilmember o'connor and other leaders at the scene to be as close as possible, get as accurate information as possible and disse

people in squirrel hill area should remain sheltered. looks like multiple fatalities, be aware of active shooter. god bless all. we heard from the police, they say multiple casualties, but no clarity on deaths or extent of casualties. still with me, james galliano, samantha vinograd, and selena zito was on the phone with us, she's from the area, and art roderick is also with us. what's your calculus based on observations and the information we're getting, images we're seeing? >> looks like they've established an outer perimeter here because you see law enforcement kind of in a stand by mode on the outer perimeter where they've held press back. i think the briefing, should hear a briefing coming up soon. maybe hopefully they established an inner perimeter and have this individual cornered somewhere. we could be talking about a hostage barricade situation. hopefully they'll enlighten us when the public affairs officer comes back. you still see individuals in s.w.a.t. gear warming up. earlier at the top of the hour i did see pittsburgh mass

squirrel hill represents to this day a culture of kindness and inclusiveness. and it's very different than any other place i've ever lived. and i've lived in a lot of different places. but something in me is constantly searching for squirrel hill. >> i'll ask you, while we have the rabbi and the doctor here, i just wonder if you have anything to say to them, marcus. >> to say to them? >> yes. >> first of all, i appreciate your work -- oh, sorry. >> go on. you can -- go ahead. >> okay. i just want to say i appreciate your words. go ahead. >> yeah. so i simply want to say that i think it's important that i wrote this speech three years ago. i never imagined anything like this would happen. but i want you to know everything i felt three years ago is what i felt my entire life, that i am who i am today because of the people of squirrel hill and how they took me in. and i wish that i could just return some of the comfort and aid to you that the people of squirrel hill gave me and my family at the time. and i'm so sorry for your loss and i wish i could do something m

we know that many in the community in squirrel hill had close ties with israel.cnn that the suspected shooter, robert bowers, made anti-jewish comments during the deadly rampage, as he gunned down now at least ten people, and others who are still wounded. here is what israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu had to say in response. >> i was heart broken and appalled by the murder ous attack on a pittsburgh synagogue today. the entire people of israel grieve with the families of the dead. we stand together with the jewish community of pittsburgh, we stand together with the american people, in the face of this horrendous anti-semitic brutality. and we all pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded. >> joining me now is cnn's correspondent in jerusalem, oren liebermann. as i mentioned, many of in this community had close ties to israel. i was listening to someone who had just gotten back from there. how are people in israel reacting to this tragedy? >> reporter: alex, especially at times like this, after a shooting attack like this at a synagogue, those ties are

this is squirrel hill.idn't think of it as something that was affecting me. >> reporter: close-knit squirrel hill, the real life mr. rogers neighborhood, home to several synagogues and an active jewish community shaken to its core. the horrific scene unfolded at the tree of life synagogue as kong gants observed the sabbath. >> the scene is very bad inside. there are multiple fatalities. >> reporter: 11 people killed, many more wounded including police officers injured at the scene. s.w.a.t. operators engaging in a gun battle with the shooter. nearby residents warns not to leave their homes. kim harden's home is just across the street from the synagogue. >> by the time i rallied my kids and got them down to get them in the basement, the police were already starting to arrive. there were four, five, six police cars. they were jumping out of their cars with their weapons drawn. so i knew something was really wrong. probably five minutes after that we had the s.w.a.t. banging on our back door trying to get in t

you grew up in squirrel hill. you had your bar mitsvah there. >> yeah. >> on saturday morning, your mother called you. your daughter called you. walk us through the last few days and the people who you knew who lost their lives. you were in pittsburgh last night. >> yeah. your regularly scheduled programming is disrupted and find yourselves in places you couldn't imagine. having coffee on saturday morning i couldn't have imagined that, you know, last night i would be in the city of pittsburgh at a wonderful interfaith vigil celebrating the lives of these wonderful people and this is disruptive at the core. when somebody comes into your home and takes the lives of those you know and family members you know, it's really hard to process. so, you know, i think -- i'll say on the flip side, though, the outpouring of love and affection of all corners of the globe to all of us, myself and my family, and everyone from pittsburgh, pittsburgh is a special place. a lot of us live in the -- what i call the pittsburgh diaspora

teams descending on the tree-lined streets of squirrel hill. the peace of a sleepy weekend morning, shattered. the first 911 calls coming in at 9:54 a.m. people inside the tree of life synagogue, frantic. they were under attack. >> at least one caller sounded like they may have been shot. >> reporter: members of three congregations inside. a baby naming ceremony, about to get under way. now, a gunman had entered the house of worship. >> as soon as he came into the lobby, he opened fire. >> reporter: >> reporter: according to the fbi, the alleged gunman, 46-year-old robert bowers, hurling words of hate against jews even as he murdered them. when the first two police officers encountered bowers, they say he was wielding an ar-15 rifle. >> as we approached the front of the synagogue he was firing at us and pinned us down with gunfire. >> reporter: the officers, wounded, and the gunman then retreating farther into the synagogue. a s.w.a.t. team enters, discovering a scene of unimaginable horror. 11 people, 3 women and 8 men, dead. as medics rush to

chuck diamond joining me here on squirrel hill in pittsburgh.oming up, much more here from pittsburgh, pennsylvania, as we continue to follow the aftermath of the shooting that took place here yesterday morning. people tell me all the time i have the craziest job, the riskiest job. the consequences underwater can escalate quickly. the next thing i know, she swam off with the camera. it's like, hey, thats mine! i want to keep doing what i love. that's the retirement plan. with my annuity i know there's a guarantee. annuities can provide protected income for life. learn more at retireyourrisk.org annuities can provide protected income for life. ♪ ♪ like concert tickets or a new snowboard. matt: whoo! whoo! jen: but that all changed when we bought a house. matt: voilà! jen: matt started turning into his dad. matt: mm. that's some good mulch. ♪ i'm awake. but it was pretty nifty when jen showed me how easy it was to protect our home and auto with progressive. [ wrapper crinkling ] get this butterscotch out of here. progressive can't protect you from

>> reporter: not exactly how far we are from squirrel hill. we're in the baldwin borough neighborhoods, south and southwest of downtown pittsburgh. it's probably 15, 20 minutes up to your location there. so this would have been a drive. and that's going to be another question is, how long had he been prlanning to attack this particular synagogue. i don't know the layout of where the nearest synagogues are to his home here, but obviously, squirrel hill is a predominantly jewish neighborhood and that tree of life synagogue is an anchor in that community. so many, many questions left to be unanswered. but the people who have lived with this man and around this man just found him to be a bit unusual. and sadly, yesterday, he's allegedly pulled off what was a devastating attack on this community. david? >> absolutely, ron. thank you very much for the reporting. i appreciate it. and joining me here now in squirrel hill is meryl ansman with the jewish federation of greater pittsburgh. ron just a moment ago talking about the importance of this neighbo

leland: okay. >> today we are all squirrel hill.eland: yeah. >> wonderful community and to stand in solidarity with them to be united in broken hearts is what we are today. the psalms of david say that the lord is close to broken hearted. leland: that's what the vice president said as he opened remarks in las vegas. as you said communities like this have unique ability to come together whether it is newtown in the wake of tragedy there, the orlando community after the pulse nightclub shooting as we have covered sadly around country out of the worst part of the human equation and what this shooting was is the worst part of human equation often comes the very best in human equation which is what you just talked about, sir. >> yeah, and it's going to be a long time of healing here. gillian: do you have a message, congressman for constituents and people across the state as to how they can help support this small community in squirrel hill? >> absolutely. keep people in your prayers and stay tune to see funds might be established to help

especially in squirrel hill. >> reporter: squirrel hill is picturesque and home to a quarter of the city's jewish community. >> what's the one word you'd use to describe this community? >> there's a hebrew word which means unity. >> reporter: this bookstore has been part of the neighborhood since the 1950s. >> it doesn't matter what we do, where we go to synagogue or church, we're neighbors. >> this community is a throwback in time. old fashioned markets lined the main street. neighbors know each other well. >> there are lots of things to wonder about. >> it was mr. rogers' real life neighborhood. he grew up a few blocks from the site of yesterday's deadly shooting. >> if it can happen here, it really can happen anywhere. >> the victims called squirrel hill home. >> how is the community doing? >> obviously, it brings you together. >> it definitely feels like there's an overall sadness and it's a process that everyone is coming to terms with in their own way individual hi. >> today children like 3-year-old lulu came together to learn about a virtue that weaves the fabric of squirrel hill. >

. >> and the damage he left behind is tearing the fabric of the squirrel hill in pittsburgh. the executive editor of "the pittsburgh post gazette" writing it is the center of pittsburgh judaism. we get more from cnn's miguel marquez. >> reporter: christine and dave, the more we learn about robert bowers, the more disturbing it is. not because people are saying he was a nazi and expressing the views, but the exact opposite. there was none of that. this is a person who barely cast a shadow in this life. people who knew him for years say that they felt badly for him. he was a lost soul. investigators now combing through everything. they have gone through his house for many hours. computers, phones, car, looking for video. trying to paint a full picture of what and when and how and why this individual would do such a thing. one thing is clear. if you knew where to look online, not twitter, not facebook, not obvious places, but online places where he was posting that he posted deeply hateful rhetoric and information about jews in particular. there was one group in particular that

we will traditionally resettled jewish refugees in squirrel hill and around squirrel hill through jfcsttsburgh. but today, we resettled refugees of all ethnicities an all religions in all areas of pittsburgh. very fuel of the people we help today as refugees are jewish because thank god, there are very few jewish refugees these days. so yes, our affiliate in pittsburgh helps refugees of many nationalities. they were helping syrians till they had a hard time coming into this country. congolese, burmese, they welcome many different nationalities to pittsburghing. > mark hetfield, i'm glad to have you talk about hias. i hope you won't be deterred by what has happened today. thank you for your time. >> we'll be right back, after a short break here on msnbc with the very latest. on msnbc with the very latest. and an ice plant. but we brought power to the people- redefining what that meant from one era to the next. over 90 years later we continue to build as one of the nation's largest investors in infrastructure. we don't just help power the american dream. we're part of it. this is our era

you know the squirrel hill area. the community. >> reporter: this is a densely populated up scale beautiful community actually. i used to live there in pittsburgh for sefrveral years, not far from where this incident is occurring. it is densely populated. and it has a large jewish population. and as you have mentioned, this is happening on their day of worship. so i suspect that it would have been crowded today. i don't know that for a fact, but i would think that it might be. it also is a community where you have single family homes, mostly single family homes. and it is in an area that is there is a lot of business, restaurants, schools in the area. and it is a heavily populated and very popular section of the city of pittsburgh. it is one of the most popular communities in pittsburgh. i used to spend time myself there. and it is a place for entertainment and also a wonderful place for people to live. >> we know in the wake of i guess the tenor in this country, there are many churches which have taken to actually h

the squirrel hill neighborhood is home to a thriving jewish community. tonight, it is mourning 11 people murdered here in a mass 1hooting yesterday, the deadliest attack on jews in american history. neighbors have been stopping by hbl day long to leave flowers and candles outside the building, and share their sense of disbelief that a hate crime ere has touched them so closely. we have seen stars of david show up outside the synagogue here just in the past few hours, with names of all of the 11 who have lost their lives. a vigil to honor the victims is eaking place right now, just about ten minutes from here. those killed range in age from 54 to 97. oour of the six people injured were police officers. david begnaud begins our coverage. >> reporter: the mayhem started just before 10:00 a.m. saturday morning. inside the tree of life synagogue in the squirrel hill neighborhood of pittsburgh. three different congregations were worshipping in separate rooms. >> reporter: the alleged shooter, identified as robert bowers, was armed with an ar-15 style assault w

squirrel hill forever now about this. the man suspected in this unthinkable horror of hate, gunning down those 11 people, made his first appearance in court today. our matt finn was there at the courthouse in pittsburgh. hello. >> reporter: 46-year-old robert bowers was wheeled in the courtroom. he is still recovering in the gun shot wounds he sustained after the shootout massacre at the tree of life. the judge read the suspected gunman all 29 federal charges against him, including using a firearm to commit murder, injury to a public safety officer and hate crimes. bowers was in court in hospital-issue garb. he seemed alert and of clear mind when answering yes and no. he acknowledged he received a copy of the criminal complaint filed against him by an fbi agent. that criminal complaint reveals disturbing details about the synagogue massacre, a portion of the complaint reads, quote, during the course of his deadly assault on people at the synagogue and simultaneously, with his gun fight with responding officers, bowers mad

this is squirrel hill at its finest, pittsburgh at its finest. while, you know, the world will always remember these tragic events, i would encourage everyone to know that this community is a wonderful community that has done so much more good. when you see something like this happen, i want to be clear. it's hard not to take it personal because this was deliberate. you know, this is an individual who clearly knows what squirrel hill and the pittsburgh jewish community stand for. it's representative of our community, our city at large. and when you choose to do something here, you're making a very bold statement about attacking good. and so i have encouraged people to do, many people ask what can we do to help? in order to honor the lives of our friends and family members and in order to honorer our community, go out and do something good today, in judaism, we talk about repairing the world. you know, tree of life is where i learned that for the first time. the pittsburgh jewish community center is where i practiced that. i'm encouraging people t

here again, juju chang. >> squirrel hill, home to a quarter of the city's jewish community.merica's model neighbor, fred rogers. yes, that mister rogers. he taught generations of children the importance of loving and accepting yourself as well as your neighbors. abc's john donvan with this neighborhood and how it's banded together. >> reporter: remarkably close by foot to this weekend's horror of speck thattal and flalits down s a street o wrenc lived a man named fred rogers. ♪ would you be mine >> reporter: the same fred rogers who created "mister rogers neighborhood" on television. a fictional place that honored humanity. >> ah. that does feel good. >> reporter: in all of its hues, in all of its manifestations. ♪ but it's you i like ♪ the way you are right now >> reporter: the fred rogers who sang songs of acceptance and told his audience constantly -- oat i'm glad you're the way you are ♪ ♪ yeah, i am >> reporter: and who stood still backboned against the sick thinking that led to saturday's massacre. this now grieving community, it was fred rogers' real-life neighborhood

the squirrel hill area. that the scene around the tree of life synagogue is now covered in police as they search for this gunman and tried to apprehend him. there are reports that there have been multiple casualties at the synagogue, possibly fatalities as well. warnings going out to people in that area that this is an ongoing operation and that they should stay indoors because there is a risk, a heavy police presence in that area and a warning to residents in that suburb of pittsburgh that they should keep themselves safe. the synagogue would have been busy, this has happened on a saturday morning when people would have been at the synagogue. so clearly a risk to people who were gathered there. we don't know anything more about exactly why this gunmen picked that asa exactly why this gunmen picked that as a target, what exactly his motivation would have been. this feeds into an already very security conscious atmosphere in the united states as a whole given the arrest ofa states as a whole given the arrest

>> i think the phrase last night was -- at the vigil, "we are still squirrel hill." will be the sentiment throughout this -- through the grieving period and through the eventual healing period. it's close-knit. they are going to get through it together. >> reporter: megan guza, thank you for being with me this morning. >> thank you. >> christi, i think important what megan just said there. this is a close-knit community and the motto, we are still squirrel hill, we will see in the days and weeks ahead as this community tries to find a way to reconcile what they saw here yesterday and move forward. >> no doubt about it. victor, thank you. >>> the fbi is looking into posts that were made to this little known social media site to build its case against the accused synagogue shooter. coming up, we are learning about gab.com. a so-called network that champions free speech. >>> first, if you could contact a deceived loved one, would you do it? in tonight's episode of "this is life." lisa ling visits lily dale. >> reporter: it's been seven years since tony's son joe died in

this statement from mike doyle whose district includes squirrel hill. we know at this point that the shooter was motivated by hate and anti-semitism. we have to find ways to prevent this hate festering in our society. take toe steps we can make this hate less deadly. soon we will need to come together to heal and ensure this does not happen again. turning us on the phone is promised and oil. thank you for being with us. guest: good morning. host: what steps can congress do that could potentially prevent this kind of hate crime? guest: we know we cannot legislate against hate, but when i said we can make hate less deadly, this gentleman who committed this heinous act had in ar-15 with him. these are weapons designed to do one thing, kill lots of people quickly. that is what he is able to do with that particular weapon. we have them in the hands of civilians. understand why any civilian needs a military style weapon. i grew up in western pennsylvania. we have lots of hunters. we have hunting rifles. some people have handguns. that is fine. i don't quibble

the community in squirrel hill someo is one of the historic jewish communities in pittsburgh. it's a dense community filled with jews of multi-denominations and approaches to jewish life. rabbi jeff myers is a rabbi and head spiritual leader of tree of life congregation. somebody i've known for several years, going back to his previous pulpit which was in new jersey. he's, as we say, a real wonderful person. he was in that time but not conducting services. our hearts go out to him and to his entire community and the entire movement stands with tree of life at this time. >> i know because i'm hearing from synagogues, jewish community centers all over the country right now, rabbi, they, as a result of this mass murder in pittsburgh this morning, they're increasing their own security out of an abundance of caution which i assume you think is a prudent idea. >> well, we've been working with the secure communities network which is sponsored by the jewish federations of north america for several years in terms of advising synagogues on security measures and ways to increase the secu

people in squirrel hill area should be sheltered.ike multiple fatalities, beware of shooter, god bless all. the right nej at the right ti-- message at the right time and the police requested everyone shelter in place. it gets back to your point, commissioner, the anxiety all the family members must be going through right now in the hopes of hearing that there's some form of resolution. is one of the issues or could one of the issues actually be that maybe they feel like someone is town, they may be have gotten someone, but not sure of their accomplices there? >> there's no question that there is a lot of work being done after an incident like this, to identify other individuals who may be involved. and sometimes that's right at the scene. so after you catch the suspect, or get the suspect into custody somehow, then you have to slowly and methodically clear all the rooms in the building, and there's people in those rooms, usually, there are frightened, so, sometimes it's not easy to get them out. you have to convince them that you're

squirrel hill is 20, 25,000 people. it's diverse. christians and jews and baptists and muslims and hindus working together. i'm roman catholic. i've been in this synagogue a number of times as my children were with their friends. we've been there at weddings and funerals. in squirrel hill we work together, play together, pray together and celebrate together. it's a diverse, welcoming community. i've lived here for 30 years. it's where my wife and i chose to raise our 8 children. it's loving. you can walk the streets. they walk up the streets to the business district. it's a wonderful community. >> rich, as you know there's been some suggestion that an armed guard at the synagogue might have stopped what happened there. this is what the mayor of pittsburgh said about that suggestion yesterday. >> i've heard the conversation over the past year about how we should arm security guards in our schools. we shouldn't be trying to find ways to minimize the dangers that occur from irrational behavior. the approach that we need to be looking at

it should not be happening in our neighbourhood here in squirrel hill. gunman is reported to have given himself up after exchanging with police. but he is left another american community scarred by gun violence. 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, i'll be making a statement at the farmers of america, we're doing the future farmers and we'll be going there, some will be going with me and we will be making a major statement. it is a terrible thing what is going on with hate in our country, frankly, it all over the world. and all over the world. 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 the 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 abso

squirrel hill is devastated tonight. there is just a very heavy cloud of grief that hangs over this community. but as you mentioned, they came out to the church behind us. and this was something that was kind of -- just came together organically because i was told by people here in the community they just wanted to be together, they just wanted to comfort one another, and more than anything they wanted to send this signal that hate is not what happens here in squirrel hill, that love is what will be triumphing at the end of the day. and so they all came together with that in mind. and i talked to a lot of people who say they lived here their whole life, that they know each other's kids, that they know each other's families, you say hi on the street corner, that this is a diverse community and it's a community that feels safe. and as you can imagine, they were absolutely stunned when this happened here in their community today. and i think it shook so many people. but again, they wanted to make sure that love was the mess

in the synagogue here in squirrel hill which has a large jewish community it's a very generally safe and. active place has a lot of shops a lot of people come here to myself. and at least four people have been killed and there's police everywhere at this point a lot of the neighborhood has been closed off have you managed to talk to people that saw what happened than one of witnesses said. just that there is at least one shooter who started shooting in the synagogue i guess. again hitting a number of people killing at least four that i've heard of so far. i'm with regard to the situation where you are at the moment is the area in lockdown one of the police being say it is a lot in lockdown and i can't get any closer than i am right now. a lot of the streets are closed off. here. tell us more about the community there dan because we know this is a synagogue and you say it's a very peaceful community even if there previously is that right yes i lived here for a number of years i live very close to here now i come here many weekends to shop to go to bookstores restaurants it's probably

you know, squirrel hill, it's really a kind of religious enclave here in pittsburgh.the 50,000 jews in the pittsburgh area, about a third of them live in squirrel hill. but it's also a very diverse place. you know, actually, fred rogers of mr. rogers neighborhood, he lived there and he actually died there only a couple of years ago. so it literally is mr. rogers neighborhood. it's just the kind of pluralistic place that this man was trying to target. just that kind of symbol of americans, different types of americans living together and thriving together. so this ceremony last night, this candlelight vigil, it was just so emotional and so wrenching. milissa? >> thank you, nbc's matt bradley outside the university of pittsburgh medical center. >>> the next steps for law enforcement in the investigation into the synagogue massacre and what can be done to prevent future attacks. but some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. fisher investments tailors portfolios to your goals and needs. some only call when they have something to sell. fisher calls regularly so you

squirrel hill is not just a jewish community, and pittsburgh as a whole is unifying.g to bring light, for example, by getting in front of cameras and talking about how we are going to respond. people are responding with love. we are going to love and be understanding, and if we unify in this way that we are seeing throughout pittsburgh, that's the only way to defeat this type of hatred. there's no sense in what happened here. there's there there's no sense of what happened in parkland or missouri. we are going to have to unify and have a singular message going forward and we are going to have to do something to address automatic weapons that can take out an entire congregation in seconds. there's no rational reason to have that type of weapon in hands as we saw here, and until we unify and address that issue as a country, we can't heal. but this community, this city, we're going to approach it with compassion and love and try to use this event to galvanize not only our community but our city and hopefully this message throughout the country so we can get viable change

heavily armed police converging on squirrel hill at reports that a man opened fire on the synagogue.eaceful 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 squi

. >> squirrel hill is strong. and we are going to remain that way. ♪ >> we have to watch each other's back and we have to be there for each other. >>> good morning. i'm christi paul in atlanta. my colleague victor blackwell is in pittsburgh, pennsylvania right now. i would assume what the people of pittsburgh are doing right now, trying to hold each other up. >> reporter: yes. good morning. i'm a block away from the tree of life synagogue. i just got a copy of pittsburgh post gazette, the sunday edition here. take a look. it's the squirrel hill massacre is the headline. this tight-knit community is now one of those communities, unfortunately, where you can simply say the name and people, unfortunately, remember a tragedy, like sandy hook or san bernardino where a large group of people were taken in such tragedy. in just a couple of hours, this community will hear read out from the law enforcement for the first time the list of those 11 who were killed. they likely know those names because they know their neighbors

eric: absolutely with all the people of squirrel hill and that city.ow can we finally put a stop to all these horrific shootings we've been witnessing, oftentimes happening in soft targets, places of worship, churches, synagogues, mall, what do we do to keep people safe? joining us now is michael braboni. michael, this was a bris, a celebration for a baby, the family was around the rabbi with the child and the man comes in and starts shooting. what do we need to do? >> in middle america, not new york or l.a. or some place where we've almost become accustomed to these types of attacks from a terrorism perspective at least. this is really rivetting people to the basic question of are we seeing our society changing. i deal with all sorts of places, everything from schools to synagogues. do we need armed guards? do we need to have a bulletproof visitor entryway so that during a school day, you close that off so nobody can get in that might have a weapon. do we need to put magnatomers in schools? how do we keep guns out of hands of people that are frankly i

they can't change. >> we will support you in keeping squirrel hill the same place that it was. thank you for that commitment. >> thank you. >> our hearts are with you. >> thank you. >>> last hour the man suspected of sending multiple bombs in the mail last week was in the florida courtroom. cesar sayoc made his court appearance hours before there was a possible 15th bomb found in atlanta addressed to cnn. it was intercepted at a mail facility. at this point investigators admit they don't know how many more bombs might show up. they're warning people say they sayoc may have done research on and possibly targeted. kerry sanders is outside the courtroom where sayoc appeared. good afternoon. is sayoc cooperating? >> reporter: he is not cooperating. his attorney said he's invoked his right to silence. he's said nothing to them. now, at the hearing it was more or less a profungt ri gathering to say they're going to have another hearing to discuss detention on friday. they didn't even get around to the idea of extradition back to new york where he faces the five charges including send

it is in the squirrel hill neighborhood of pittsburgh. shawn henry was just looking at the social media. mr. bowers has an anti-semitic past. reportedly arrive with anti-semitic comments. it is also said he shouted anti-semitic comments whether upon capture or surrender or inside the synagogue remains unclear at this point. let's listen to what the president said a short while ago about the situation. here it is. >> a terrible, terrible thing what's going on with hate in our country, frankly, and all over the world. and something has to be done. something has to be done. about it looks like the results are coming in. and they are far more devastating than anybody originally thought. if they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. this is a dispute that will always exist i suspect. but if they had some kind of a protection inside the temple, maybe it could have been a very much different situation. >> there is the president again at jont base andrews about to board air force one. he is on his way to a campaign style

but i think that squirrel hill is strong. and we're going to remain that way. >> there have been people who left and may never return, but i think most of the people stay because they feel comfortable and connected in the small community. >>> the victims need to be talked about a lot. they can't talk for themselves anymore. and their families may not have the words. the victims can't ever leave our hearts. and i'm not going to politicize this or even talk about the person that did this. i want to only talk about them and keep them all in our hearts, and they'll live on forever. >> friends and family of the victims of yesterday's synagogue massacre honoring their memories. the suspect in the shooting that left 11 people dead told police, quote, i just want to kill jews. robert bowers faces numerous charges, including hate crimes. 29 charges in all. this comes as the anti-defamation league says anti-semitic incidents spiked 57% just last year. joining me right now is debra litstap, the author of the book "denying the holocaust,

this is a large sin goynagogue e squirrel hill neighborhood. this is where a shooting took place earlier today. not long after services were to get under way. we understand they were going to be -- they were probably simultaneous at least three services taking place in this very sizable synagogue. police have said sources that shimon has spoke within confirming 12 people shot. three officers shot and four people had been killed. so continue with your thoughts. >> just to get back to that scene. to get back to what's going on. police have spent sort of the last several hours, couple of hours, going through, floor by floor, of this synagogue. they came across some suspicious packages. some stuff belonging to him. medical bags as well. obviously they were treating the injured. they don't believe there are any bombs or explosives inside the building. we should be seeing them exit the building where investigators are processing the crime scene. >> that makes it difficult, too. a shooting takes place. people drop what they have. their purses, they dr

with team i know and cherish who live in squirrel hill.ve to realize that president trump has created a climate through his hate-filled attacks. his aggression against minorities. also through his own encouraging violence in his rhetoric. it is no coincidence that we are seeing the targets of his ire who are now being exposed to actual violence. i think we would be doing a disservice to the dead and also not protecting us against future attacks if we didn't address the ways in which president trump contributed to this and frankly i find his sympathies to be not believable. >> what do you mean by that? he had a few different versions of expressed thoughts on what transpired yesterday. >> he had a tweet, it's not clear if he wrote it or someone else did. then he went back to partisan business as usual at his rally last night. unless he is prepared, which we know he won't do, repudiate the hate he spewed into the public discourse. by the way, also stop putting these ar 15 assault weapons in the hands of people. cut that off. let's have reason

it's located in the in the squirrel hill neighbourhood, which has a largejewish population.unman, described as a "heavy—set white male with a beard", has been named by us media as robert bowers. he surrendered to police after a tense stand—off. richard lister begins our coverage. heavily armed police converging on squirrel hill, after reports that a man had opened fire in a synagogue. a peaceful suburban neighbourhood transformed in moments by a gunman. tactical weapon units were brought in from 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 large jewish population. local media said the gunman shouted, "alljews must die," as he began his attack. residents, still unsure of what was happening, were escorted home. 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 shelter in place. do not come out of your home right now, it is not safe.

it happened in the squirrel hill neighborhood, a largely jewish community. it happened at the tree of life synagogue. the largest conservative congregation in that area, actually formed more than 150 years ago and in 2010 two pittsburgh congregations americaed to form the tree of life congregation. so this is a huge congregation. it happened during the 9:45 a.m. shubot, it's the most attended service of the entire week. we also know from up to local media reports, up to 12 people were shot, eight confirmed dead. three officers were also shot and hearing that some officers who were responding to the scene were forced to even use their vehicles as a shield. we're hearing that the shooting happened in the basement of the synagogue and people were found both in the atrium and in the basement. we heard from the former president of the synagogue that in the past, security had been an issue for them and they were working with the department of homeland security to try to find ways to secure exits and entrances. so there was a huge police response in that neighborho

stein was retired, he lived in squirrel hill, in pittsburgh, with izhis wife.s a great guy, a fun guy, he had a dry sense of humor and everybody loved him. his son also posted a moving tribute calling saturday, the worst day of my life. joe stein writes, my mom, sister and i are absolutely devastated and crushed. our lives now are going to have to take a different path. daniel stein was 71 years old. making my dreams a reality takes more than just investment advice. from insurance to savings to retirement, it takes someone with experience and knowledge who can help me build a complete plan. brian, my certified financial planner™ professional, is committed to working in my best interest. i call it my "comfortable future plan," and it's all possible with a cfp® professional. find your certified financial planner™ professional at letsmakeaplan.org. we really pride ourselves >> ton making it easyautoglass, to get your windshield fixed. >> teacher: let's turn in your science papers. >> tech vo: this teacher always puts her students first. >> student: i did mine on v

squirrel hill sounds like a country estate. in fact there's squirrels racing all over the place in the big parks that bound the neighborhood. and having grown up there, it was a fabulous place to grow up as both someone who's jewish and someone who's american. because the civic pride of the city, which is now expressed in the sports teams, the steelers and penguins and so on. is something that everybody in the city participates in. and only a city of that size would feel that way. it's a diverse jewish community as has been said, there's orthodox walking around in their long black dress and hats. secular jews who go away to prep school. the pittsburgh jewish community, squirrel hill in particular, it has everyone from lower middle class people jews who work in gas stations and garages and are waitresses in restaurants and take the bus. in the old days the trolley every day, to very wealthy captains of industry, who participate in the highest levels of corporate life in the city. and it was a great place to grow up, i have to say

so there has been nothing but sadness on the streets of squirrel hill today.ple walking their dogs, crying on the streets here. people walking just having a walk and in tears everywhere. that has turned to real anger as the president has gotten here. he is certainly not welcome in this neighborhood. and it is shocking to see that a president, who is meant to be the consoler-in-chief would be received in this way. wolf? >> yeah. so they're singing right now, protesting. only a block or so away from where the president and first lady were just moments ago at the tree of life synagogue. kaitlan, i want to go back to you. kaitlan, i understand you know now where the president's next stop in pittsburgh is taking place. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. they are at the upmc hospital nearby. the white house says that's because there's still one police officer who is in icu there, one of the police officers who was shot here on saturday that we were just talking about. and one other individual still in the hospital, as well. it's unclear who that individual is, if it's

. >> we are following closely the events of squirrel hill. i will be speaking and making a statement at the farmers of america. you see what we are doing -- the future farmers. they have the big conference. and we will be going there. i guess some of you will be going with me and we will be making a major statement. it is a terrible terrible thing what's going on with hate in our country, frankly, and all over

grew up in squirrel hill and that's my parents synagogue that got shot so it's very personal. for him to be there, it's positive. political debate is part of jewish life and it's also part clearly of the community's feelings. this tweet, the statement, it reflects a real raw emotion right now and i think american jews in particular are very concerned about the rhetoric about how jews are being described right now in the political environment and we feel that that is contributed to a culture of hate that may have

they're husband and wife. 71-year-old daniel steinof squirrel hill. 88-year-old melvin wax of squirrel hill. and 69-year-old irving young nerve mt. washington. the bodies are currently at the medical examiner's office. autopsies have begun on those. we are doing everything in our power to complete the process in a way that honors both civil and religious law. cause and manner will be released to the media as they're determined. we have not established a time framework for this. we're only in the initial process of vevaluating what we'e required to do that. finally, in talking to the families last night, they are in shock and grieving, as you can imagine. my colleagues and i join the authorities in asking you please to be respectful of the needs for the time and space as they deal with this tragedy today and the coming weeks. they they will need to know that pittsburgh supports them and is lifting them up. thank you. >> hi. i'm jeff fink he willstein, the president and ceo of the jewish federation of greater pittsburgh. so i have to begin by saying that i've seen this room a lot of tile

and in the squirrel hill neighborhood, a largely jewish community, they are devastated tonight and the entire city of pittsburgh is in mourning. >> every available unit needs to get here now. >> reporter: shots rang out just before 10:00 a.m. >> we're under fire. we're under fire. >> reporter: the chaos unfolding at the tree of life synagogue. the community ordered to shelter in place. >> do not come out of your home right now. it is not safe. >> reporter: 100 people were inside. members gathered for the saturday service and a baby naming ceremony. >> we are pinned down by gunfire. he is firing out of the front of the building wan automatic weapon. >> reporter: dozens of local and state police scene. the shooter was leaving the synagogue when confronted by police. he then barricaded himself inside, armed with an assault rifle and handguns. >> be advised. we have a suspect p negotiating surrender at this time. >> he surrendered an hour later. veteran law enforcement officers shaken by what they found afterwards. >> it's a very horrific crime scene. it's one of the worst that i've seen.

people in squirrel hill area