John T. Earnest: Difference between revisions

Earnest was a member of the Escondido Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which is affiliated with the theologically traditionalist Orthodox Presbyterian Church. According to ''The Washington Post'', the shooter's manifesto, which expressed Christian motivations for killing Jews, led to a social media debate among Christian pastors. Rev. Duke Kwon of the Presbyterian Church in America said that the manifesto contains "a frighteningly clear articulation of Christian theology" on certain issues such as salvation, and warned that "There’s a deep and ugly history of anti-Semitism that’s crept into the Christian church, that needs to be continuously addressed, condemned and corrected." Other ministers strongly denied that Christian theology and scripture offer any support for anti-Semitism. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church issued a statement that "[a]nti-Semitism and racist hatred which apparently motivated the shooter . . . have no place within our system of doctrine." In the alleged shooter's manifesto, he denied that he had learned anti-Semitic beliefs from his family.

At approximately 11:23 a.m. PDT, Earnest entered the Chabad of Poway synagogue on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which fell on a Shabbat. Approximately 100 people were inside the synagogue. The gunman carried a Smith & Wesson Model M&P 15 Sport II semiautomatic rifle and was wearing a tactical vest which contained five magazines of ten rounds each. In the foyer, Earnest shot and killed 60-year-old Lori Gilbert-Kaye, and then wounded Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, the founding rabbi of the congregation. According to witnesses, Gilbert-Kaye had tried to shield the rabbi from the gunman. Earnest then turned to a side room occupied by several people, including a number of children. He fired into the room, wounding one man with a bullet to the leg. The man's 8-year-old niece was also injured by bullet fragments that hit her face and leg. All the injured are expected to recover, although Goldstein lost his right index finger despite four hours of surgery. After Earnest fled, Goldstein spoke to the congregation despite his injury, telling them to stay strong.