Fake bomb threat sent to Tree of Life synagogue, site of deadly 2018 shooting

Pittsburgh police are investigating a false bomb threat made Tuesday to the Tree of Life synagogue, which was the scene of a 2018 hate-fueled attack that left 11 people dead, a spokesperson said.

The exact details of the threat emailed Tuesday morning were not released by police, but a city police spokesperson said it was “a hoax in line with other similar threats against synagogues across the country.”

The emailed threat received Tuesday night “was quickly determined to be a hoax,” spokeswoman Cara Cruz said.

Gunman Robert Bowers opened fire at the synagogue on October 27, 2018, killing 11 people and wounding seven others.

He was found guilty by a jury in June 2023 on 63 charges, which included hate crimes, and was sentenced to death.

Authorities have made no connection between the 2018 mass shooting and Tuesday’s false bomb threat.

Although the nature of the threat was not disclosed by authorities, the Anti-Defamation League said in April that bomb threats to Jewish institutions in the United States increased “drastically” last year compared to 2022.

The ADL said its Center on Extremism counted 1,009 anti-Semitic bomb threats in 2023, 906 of which targeted synagogues. The ADL said there have been just 91 recorded bomb threats in 2021.

The group said the increase is due in part to tensions that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza.