San Diego synagogue shooting: Rabbi who continued sermon after fingers shot off says ‘terror will not win’
'It was just 70 years ago during the Holocaust we were gunned down like this, and I just want to let my fellow Americans know that we’re not going to let this happen'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein was walking into the banquet hall at Chabad of Poway on Saturday when he heard a loud noise.
He thought a table had toppled or that one of his congregants had fallen.
“I did not know what that was,” he said. But when he turned around, he immediately found out.
“I was face to face with this murder terrorist who was holding the rifle and looking straight at me,” he said.
The gunman did not say anything.
“As soon as he saw me, he started to shoot towards me and that is when I put my hands up,” Rabbi Goldstein said.
In an interview on America's Today show on Sunday, Rabbi Goldstein recounted the harrowing moments when the gunman entered the synagogue in Poway, California, and opened fire with an AR-15-style gun.
“My fingers got blown away,” Goldstein said. “I cannot erase that face from my mind.”
The shooting at Chabad of Poway was the most recent in a string of deadly attacks at houses of worship, including a mass shooting at a mosque in New Zealand in March that was livestreamed on Facebook and fatal bombings at churches in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday that killed more than 300 people.
The attack at Chabad of Poway happened six months to the day after one of the deadliest attacks against the American Jewish community killed 11 in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
The attack on Saturday left a 60-year-old woman dead, the rabbi wounded, and a 34-year-old man and a young girl with shrapnel wounds.
The shooting occurred while there were 40 to 60 people at the synagogue and on Saturday, which was the Sabbath and also the last day of Passover, a holiday that celebrates Jewish freedom.
Rabbi Goldstein and those injured were expected to recover, but he said he will be scarred for life.
“I cannot erase the moment, and it is going to be embedded there forever,” he said.
After the gunman, identified by officials as John T Earnest, 19, shot Goldstein in his hand, he shot to death a woman the rabbi had known for 33 years and who had helped him build the synagogue.
Rabbi Goldstein said he immediately went into action.
“I turned around and I saw a group of children in the banquet hall, including my granddaughter, and I just ran, not even knowing that my fingers were blown off and curled all the kids together and got them outside and went into the sanctuary and got everyone out of the sanctuary to safety,” he said.
As they were waiting for authorities to arrive, Goldstein continued the sermon he had started inside the synagogue.
“I got up there and just spoke from my heart,” the rabbi said. “Just giving everyone the courage to know, it was just 70 years ago during the Holocaust we were gunned down like this, and I just want to let my fellow Americans know that we’re not going to let this happen.”
Authorities called the shooting a hate crime.
The gunman was charged early yesterday with one count of murder in the first degree and three counts of attempted murder. No bail was set.
“I’m just so heartbroken and saddened by the senseless killing,” Goldstein said. “Everyone needs to be a hero and everyone needs to step up and do something in the face of terror,” he said.
He added: “I guarantee you, we will not be intimidated or deterred by terror. Terror will not win.”
The New York Times
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments