Update : Authorities have identified the suspect in a shooting at a synagogue outside San Diego as John Earnest and say he’s also being investigated in a fire at a mosque in a nearby city last month.
San Diego County Sheriff William Gore told reporters Saturday that the 19-year-old had no prior arrests. He’s accused of killing a woman and wounding three others at Chabad of Poway on the last day of Passover.
Gore says his department will work with the FBI and the city of Escondido to investigate Earnest’s possible connection to an arson that caused property damage at Dar-ul-Arqam mosque last month but no injuries.
A person who said they are John Earnest wrote an anti-Jewish screed online that contained some elements not to be believed, like an allegation a YouTube star helped plan and fund the attack.
The post says he was in nursing school and cited the suspects accused of carrying out deadly attacks on mosques New Zealand and Pittsburgh synagogue last year.
Earlier:
Several people have been shot, including one fatally, after a gunman stormed a synagogue in the USA.
Officers found four people with gunshot injuries when they arrived at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue near San Diego, California earlier today.
The suspected gunman – reportedly heavily armed and wearing tactical gear – was arrested at the scene by police who are now treating the attack as an anti-semitic hate crime.
Members of the congregation are believed to have prevented a ‘bloodbath’ by tackling the him to the ground, according to MSNBC.
San Diego County sheriff’s office confirmed on Twitter that a man has been detained in connection with the shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue.
Officials say deputies were called just before 11:30 a.m.
This is a developing story via AP
