Tree of Life Congregation ‘Shooting’ in Pittburgh

Officials have confirmed an active shooter close to the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh on the morning of October 27. CBS News reports that seven people have been confirmed dead. The station’s Meghan Schiller reports that “at least two officers shot.” Schiller added that “active shooting still taking place at Tree of Life Synagogue.”

CBS Pittsburgh reported on a heavy police presence in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of the city, where the Tree of Life Congregation is located. The station says that “may have been a shooting.” An “active shooter” in the area was confirmed by the Pittsburgh Public Safety Twitter account.

Pittsburgh-based reporter Stephen Banfield tweeted that there is a “heavy police presence” in addition to “armed swat” in the area around the synagogue.

According to the synagogue’s website, Shabbat morning services were taking place inside as reports about a shooting emerged. The website says that the congregation was founded “more than 150 years ago” and is a “conservative Jewish congregation” but “is also progressive and relevant to the way we live today.” The rabbi is Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers who has been with the congregation since August 2017. Cox Media Group’s Dorey Scheimer tweeted about the congregation, “I am so sick. Squirrel Hill is the Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Tree of Life is the largest conservative synagogue. Saturday morning is the busiest/most attended service.”

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