Lawmakers honor Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims on fifth anniversary

Lawmakers honored victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting Friday, the fifth anniversary of the horrific attack in Pittsburgh.

“5 years ago today—11 people were murdered at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The deadliest antisemitic massacre in U.S. history. We will never forget them. We must do more to stop gun violence. We must confront antisemitism, bigotry, and hate in all its forms.”

“Five years ago, we lost eleven of our fellow Americans in a horrific act of gun violence and anti-semitism at the Tree of Life Synagogue,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said on X. “My heart is with that community today. It is critical at this moment to continue to denounce and combat anti-Semitism as well as the gun violence epidemic.”

The fifth anniversary also comes a few days after another mass shooting in Maine, in which 18 people died and 13 were injured. The 40-year-old suspect in that shooting remained at large Friday afternoon, with a massive search underway to find him.

“On the fifth anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, we mourn the 11 lives taken too soon,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on X. “May their memories be a blessing.”

“Today, we also recommit ourselves to the fight against antisemitism,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Together, we can build a country where all are safe from hate.”

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) said his “prayers are with the victims of this heinous crime and their families.”

“Today marks 5th anniversary of the deadliest antisemitic massacre in U.S. history at the Tree Of Life synagogue,” Durbin said in an X post. “Hate has no place in America.”

“Today is the fifth anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the worst attack against Jewish people in U.S. history,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said in a post on X. 

“As we remember this horrific tragedy, we must stand firm against antisemitism & hate in all forms as it rises at home and abroad,” he continued.