A 19-year-old who shot dead a woman and injured three other people in a synagogue on Saturday, wrote a manifesto saying he had drawn inspiration from last month’s gun massacre in New Zealand, authorities have said.
John Earnest is believed to have opened fire with an AR-type assault weapon as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday near San Diego, Reuters reports.
In a manifesto, he also claimed to have set a nearby mosque on fire last month and cited the gunman who killed nearly 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch.
Donald Trump and other elected officials decried the attack which comes exactly six months since 11 people were killed at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the deadliest assault on Jews in US history.
The president said it “looked like a hate crime”.
There were indications that the gun might have malfunctioned after firing numerous rounds inside the synagogue, the sheriff said.
An off-duty Border Patrol agent working as a security guard at the Chabad of Poway fired at the shooter as he fled, missing him but striking his getaway vehicle, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore said.
Shortly after fleeing, Earnest called police to report the shooting, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said.
When an officer reached the man, “the suspect pulled over, jumped out of his car with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody,” Nisleit said.
A girl and two men were wounded as the Jewish congregation gathered for Passover, a weeklong commemoration of the deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, the Press Association reports.
The three were in stable condition, authorities said.
A Jewish leader in the San Diego area identified the victims of the shooting.
Lori Kaye, 60, of Poway was killed, Rabbi Yonah Fradkin, executive director of Chabad of San Diego County, said in a statement.
Those injured in the shooting on Saturday were Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Noya Dahan, eight, and Almog Peretz, 34, he said.
“In the face of senseless hate we commit to live proudly as Jews in this glorious country,” he added.
“We strongly believe that love is exponentially more powerful than hate. We are deeply shaken by the loss of a true woman of valour, Lori Kaye, who lost her life solely for living as a Jew.”
Earnest has no criminal record, but investigators were looking into a claim he made in an online manifesto about setting a fire at a mosque in nearby Escondido last month, Gore said. There was damage but no injuries.
Gore said authorities were reviewing copies of his social media posts and were investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
There was no known threat after Earnest was arrested, but authorities boosted patrols at places of worship as a precaution, police said.
Minoo Anvari, a member of the synagogue, told media outlets that her husband was inside during the shooting. She said he called to tell her the shooter was shouting and cursing.
She called the shooting “unbelievable” in a peaceful and tight-knit community.
“We are strong; you can’t break us,” Ms Anvari said.
Donny Phonea, who lives across the street from the synagogue, turned off his power drill and heard someone shout, “Police!” Then he heard three or four shots.
The 38-year-old bank auditor looked over his fence facing the synagogue and saw people hiding behind an electrical box in the car park of a neighbouring church.
At that point, he knew something was “very, very wrong”, went inside and closed his doors and garage.
“I’m a little taken aback,” said Phonea, who moved to Poway two weeks ago. “I moved here because safety was a factor. Poway is very safe.”
Trump offered his sympathies on Saturday, saying the shooting “looked like a hate crime” and calling it “hard to believe”.
“Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community,” Trump said later at a rally in Wisconsin.
“We forcefully condemn the evils of anti-Semitism and hate, which must be defeated.”