Woman died jumping in front of rabbi during California synagogue shooting
POWAY, Calif. - The rabbi was celebrating the last day of Passover with his congregants at Chabad of Poway when a gunman in a green army-style vest, armed with a semiautomatic weapon, burst in and began shooting.
Voices screeched, "Hide yourself! Shooting! Shooting!" Congregants dropped to the floor. One man threw his body over his 2 1/2-year-old grandson; another was wounded ushering children to safety.
A 60-year-old woman was killed when she jumped in front of the rabbi, whose hands were pierced by gunfire. An 8-year-old girl was hit with shrapnel in the face and leg.
The attack was described by some of the 100 worshipers who were inside the synagogue celebrating one of the most sacred holidays in Judaism. As police across the state boosted patrols around synagogues, the small city of Poway's tightknit Jewish community was reeling.
"Why? The question is, why?" said Minoo Anvari, whose husband was inside the synagogue during the attack. "People are praying."
Authorities arrested the suspected shooter, John T. Earnest, who they believe was motivated by hate and, a month ago, may have tried to burn down an Escondido, Calif., mosque. Investigators were checking the authenticity of an anti-Semitic
