California law enforcement has detained a man in connection to a Saturday synagogue shooting.
According to CNN, the incident took place at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Congregation Chabad in Poway, California, about 25 miles northeast of San Diego. Local authorities have confirmed an unidentified woman was killed and three others—Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, an unidentified male, and an unidentified child—were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting occurred on the last day of Passover and exactly six months after 11 people were fatally shot at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Authorities said there is no ongoing threat to community.
Speaking to MSNBC, Poway Mayor Steve Vaus characterized the incident as a hate crime.
"All of the faith communities here are like family," he said. "Just a week ago we had an interfaith gathering to find common ground. So for this to happen only a week later, at the end of the passover, only a week after Easter, is horrific."
Law enforcement describe the suspect, John Earnest, as a white 19-year-old from San Diego. San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said the alleged gunman fled the scene shortly after shooting, and then called 911 to identify himself as the suspect. Earnest is a student at California State University San Marcos.
"We are heartbroken by this tragedy, which was motivated by hate and anti-Semitism," Karen S. Hayness, the university's president, wrote in a statement. "As a university community we know that our diversity make us stronger. Today’s reprehensible actions do not define us. They never will. We stand united against hatred as we work toward a better, more peaceful world."
Stay tuned as more information becomes available.Â
