Police are investigating San Diego synagogue shooting as a possible hate crime

Bill Gore.
(Image credit: SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images)

Police have detained a San Diego man in connection with a shooting at a synagogue in nearby Poway, California, on Saturday. One person was killed as a result of the violence, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Three more people were injured, but they are reportedly all in stable condition in area hospitals.

Authorities identified the suspect as 19-year-old John Earnest, who alerted police to his own location during the shooting. Reports say a document posted online by someone with the same name contains anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric and also claims responsibility for setting fire to a nearby mosque in March. Police are reportedly investigating Earnest for that incident, as well.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.