Current:Home > ScamsProsecution, defense rest in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial -BeyondWealth Learning
Prosecution, defense rest in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial
View
Date:2025-04-18 06:33:04
A survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre said Wednesday that she saw her right arm "get blown open in two places" by a gunman and cried "Mommy" after realizing her 97-year-old mother had been shot and killed by her side in the nation's deadliest attack on Jewish people.
Andrea Wedner was the government's last witness as prosecutors wrapped up their case against Robert Bowers, who burst into the Tree of Life synagogue building with a military-style rifle and other weaponry and opened fire, shooting anyone he could find.
Bowers killed 11 worshippers and injured seven other people, including five police officers, in the attack. The 50-year-old truck driver is charged with 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and the obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death.
Bowers' attorneys did not put on a defense after the prosecution rested, setting the stage for closing arguments and jury deliberations on Thursday.
Assuming the jury returns a conviction, the trial would enter what's expected to be a lengthy penalty phase, with the same jurors deciding Bowers' sentence: life in prison or the death penalty. Bowers' attorneys, who have acknowledged he was the gunman, have focused their efforts on trying to save his life.
Federal prosecutors ended their case against Bowers on Wednesday with some of the most harrowing and heartbreaking testimony of the trial so far.
Wedner told jurors that Sabbath services had started five or 10 minutes earlier when she heard a crashing sound in the building's lobby, followed by gunfire. She said her mother, Rose Mallinger, asked her, "What do we do?"
Wedner said she had a "clear memory" of the gunman and his rifle.
"We were filled with terror — it was indescribable. We thought we were going to die," she said.
Wedner called 911 and was on the line when she and her mother were shot. She testified that she checked her mother's pulse and realized, "I knew she wouldn't survive." As SWAT officers entered the chapel, Wedner said, she kissed her fingers and touched them to her dead mother, cried "Mommy," and stepped over another victim on her way out. She said she was the sole survivor in that section of the synagogue.
Her account capped a prosecution case in which other survivors also testified about the terror they felt that day, police officers recounted how they exchanged gunfire with Bowers and finally neutralized him, and jurors heard about Bowers' toxic online presence in which he praised Hitler, espoused white supremacy and ranted incessantly against Jews.
The defense has suggested Bowers acted not out of religious hatred but rather a delusional belief that Jews were enabling genocide by helping immigrants settle in the United States.
Also testifying Wednesday was Pittsburgh SWAT Officer Timothy Matson, who was critically wounded while responding to the rampage.
He told jurors that he and another officer broke down the door to the darkened room where Bowers had holed up and was immediately knocked off his feet by blasts from Bowers' gun. Matson, who stands 6 foot 4 and weighed 310 pounds at the time of the shooting, said he made his way to the stairs and was placed on a stretcher, and remembers thinking, "I must be in bad shape."
Matson was shot seven times, including in the head, knee, shin and elbow, and has endured 25 surgeries to repair the damage, but he testified he would go through the door again.
- In:
- Religion
- Trial
- Judaism
- Crime
- Robert Bowers
- Pittsburgh
- Shootings
veryGood! (289)
Related
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Why oil in Guyana could be a curse
- Tennessee governor, music leaders launch push to protect songwriters and other artists against AI
- Amalija Knavs, mother of former first lady Melania Trump, dies at 78
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Blood tests offered in New Mexico amid query into ‘forever chemical’ contamination at military bases
- Kentucky is the all-time No. 1 team through 75 storied years of AP Top 25 college basketball polls
- Securities and Exchange Commission's X account compromised, sends fake post on Bitcoin ETF
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Federal prosecutor in NY issues call for whistleblowers in bid to unearth corruption, other crimes
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- New Mexico Legislature confronts gun violence, braces for future with less oil wealth
- 5 candidates apiece qualify for elections to fill vacancies in Georgia House and Senate
- Ex-West Virginia health manager scheduled for plea hearing in COVID-19 payment probe
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Biggest snubs in the 2024 SAG Awards nominations, including Leonardo DiCaprio, 'Saltburn'
- Jessica Biel Proves Son Is Taking After Dad Justin Timberlake's Musical Interest in Rare Photo
- Police investigation finds Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert didn’t punch ex-husband as he claimed
Recommendation
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
The bird flu has killed a polar bear for the first time ever – and experts say it likely won't be the last
Germany approves the export of air-defense missiles to Saudi Arabia, underlining a softer approach
1 killed, 3 injured in avalanche at Palisades Tahoe ski resort, California officials say
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos targeted for recall for not supporting Trump
Arizona shelter dog's midnight munchies leads to escape attempt: See the video
Volunteer Connecticut firefighter hailed as hero for quick action after spotting house fire