Alleged Tree of Life shooter indicted for federal hate crimes, could face death penalty

Police tape around the Tree of Life synagogue.

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

published October 31, 2018

The man suspected of killing 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday has been indicted on 44 federal counts.

Robert Bowers was indicted Wednesday with federal hate crimes for the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history, and "faces a maximum possible penalty of death, or life without parole, followed by a consecutive sentence of 535 years' imprisonment," reports CNN's Jake Tapper. Those charges include 11 counts of obstructing religious freedom resulting in death and 11 counts of committing violent crime using a firearm, among others.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the charges on Wednesday, saying Bowers was allegedly responsible for "incomprehensibly evil and utterly repugnant" crimes, per The Washington Post. Victims in the case include not just the 11 killed, but also two injured victims, nine who escaped unharmed, and four injured law enforcement officers, reports CNN. The indictment also mentions that Bowers allegedly yelled that he wanted to "kill Jews" while in the synagogue.