Synagogue Shooting Suspect Booked On One Count Of Murder As Victim Saved Rabbi

The 19-year-old white male involved in the shooting at a synagogue in the city of Poway in San Diego County, California on Saturday was booked on one count of murder in the first degree and three counts of attempted murder in the first degree.

Poway is about 25 miles northeast of San Diego.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said one woman, Lori Gilbert Kaye, was killed while three others were wounded in the attack that took place shortly before 11:30 a.m. The gunman, who is also suspected of attempting to burn down a mosque in Escondido City, entered the Chabad of Poway synagogue during Passover services Saturday and opened fire on the gathered worshippers with an AR-style assault weapon.

Kaye, 60, of Poway, jumped in front of the synagogue’s founding rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, and was struck by the bullets meant for him. Goldstein was shot in the hand, however, and lost his right index finger.

Wounded were Noya Dahan, eight, who was hit with shrapnel in the face and leg. Almog Peretz, 34, Noya’s uncle, was shot in the leg as he rescued children while shepherding them to safety.

“Lori took the bullet for all of us,” said the wounded Goldstein outside the synagogue on Sunday.

Goldstein described Kaye as a “supporter, philanthropist, just a kind soul.”

Kaye was hailed as “a Jewish hero” who had thrown herself “in the path of the murderer’s bullets to save the life of the rabbi,” said Israeli diaspora minister, Naftali Bennett.

Police said the gunman only stopped shooting after his rifle jammed. He then fled the temple after being chased by Oscar Stewart, 51, a resident of Rancho Bernardo and a veteran of the war in Iraq. Stewart caught up to the gunman’s vehicle as the suspect was about to drive away.

An off-duty border patrol agent fortuitously at the scene yelled for Stewart to get out of the way. The border patrol agent then fired his pistol at the gunman, striking the vehicle as it drove away. Police said Stewart risked his life to stop the shooter and saved lives in the process.

Stewart said he was in the sanctuary when he heard gunshots. “I saw him discharge two more rounds...I ran up to him and I yelled at him and he dropped his weapon and he ran out. He looked scared.”

“I didn’t plan it,” said Stewart. “I didn’t think about it. It’s just what I did. He stopped firing. I called him a son of a bitch … I said ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and I chased him onto the street.”

San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said one of his officers, who was on the way to the shooting, heard on the radio the suspect had called 911, saying "he was just involved in this shooting" and giving his location along Interstate 15.

The officer quickly spotted the suspect, who pulled over and jumped out of his vehicle with his hands up in surrender.

“We believe he acted alone and without outside support in carrying out the attack,” said a statement from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. “We are continuing to explore every investigative avenue to bring out all the facts in the case.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom all called the attack a hate crime. Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said the synagogue was a target for "someone with hate in their heart...towards our Jewish community and that just will not stand."