WATCH LIVE: Rabbi to Speak on Poway Synagogue Shooting
Rabbi Goldstein will speak at a press conference held outside the synagogue at 2 p.m. PST Sunday and will be livestreamed in this article.
A rabbi was among those injured in a deadly shooting inside a Poway, California synagogue Saturday morning. From his hospital room Sunday, he recalled the devastating events of the shooting with TODAY.
“As soon as I walked into the banquet hall, I heard a large bang – a large noise,” Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 57, said. “I turned around and I’m face to face with this murderer – terrorist – who was holding a rifle and looking straight at me, and then as soon as he saw me, he started to shoot toward me, and that’s when I put my hands up and then my fingers got blown away.”
The rabbi suffered gunshot wounds to his index fingers, which trauma surgeon Michael Katz, M.D. said was "the largest injury" of the three surviving victims. Goldstein lost his right index finger.
“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 hurled all the kids together and got them outside,” Goldstein told TODAY.
The suspected shooter was later identified as 19-year-old John T. Earnest from San Diego.
“I cannot erase that face in my mind. I cannot erase that moment. It’s going to be embedded there forever. You know, with the loss of my index finger, it’s going to be a scar for the rest of my life – to both – to remind us of literally how vulnerable we are, but also how brave we need to be. Everyone needs to be a hero. Everyone needs to step up and do something in the face of terror,” Goldstein said.
The rabbi said it was fortunate that there was an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent during Saturday’s services who went in pursuit of the shooting suspect.
The off-duty agent opened fire on the suspect, missing the man but striking his vehicle, deputies said.
“Terror will not win. As Americans, we can’t cower in the senseless hate that is in anti-Semitism. You know, beneath the surface of every terrible experience, there lies an opportunity to grow and increase in goodness,” Goldstein said on TODAY. “Our government needs to continue to step up and help prioritize in securing our houses of worship.”
Outside of the sanctuary, which is the part of the synagogue where prayer services are preformed, the congregation was sheltering in place and waiting for authorities to arrive. Here, the rabbi continued to deliver his sermon, he told TODAY’s Willie Geist.
“I got up there, and I just spoke from my heart and giving everyone the courage to know – you know, it was just 70 years ago during the Holocaust, we were gunned down like this. And I just want to let our fellow Americans know, we’re not going to let this happen here – not here in San Diego, not here in Poway, not here in the United States of America,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein co-established Chabad of Poway in 1986 when he was in his early 20s.
Lori Gilbert-Kaye, a member of the congregation, was killed in the shooting. Goldstein said she was a “steadfast supporter” and helped secure a construction loan to build the synagogue.
“She is such a dear friend. I’ve known her for 33 years. And I’m just so heartbroken and sadden by this senseless killing,” Goldstein said.
Chabad of Poway is located at 16934 Chabad Way, next door to two other places of worship, St. John of Damascus Orthodox and Incarnation Lutheran Church.
“I ask that we all do something – something – to add more light to combat this evil darkness that’s out there. And that can happen through acts of compassion, love, and kindness,” Goldstein said.
Photo Credit: Denis Poroy/AP
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from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2ULwApN
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