Squirrel Hill community gathers to mark anniversary of synagogue shooting

University of Pittsburgh students Asher Goodwin (l) and Ilan Jordan (r) with Rabbi Hazzan Jefferey Meyers at a commemoration of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting Oct. 27, 2024 (Photo by Jason Phox for the Capital-Star)

PITTSBURGH — On the sixth anniversary of the deadly shooting at a synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, members of the community, bound together by shared grief and resilience, gathered for a day of service.

Prayers, a candle-lighting ceremony and musical performances marked the events at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill.

“This was one of those opportunities on a very memorable day in all of our history, and  being able to stand together  really gives a lot of strength to us,” Oct.  27 survivor Steven Weiss, 66, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, said during the event.

A gunman opened fire at a synagogue in Squirrel Hill on Oct. 27, 2018, killing 11 worshippers and injuring six others. The shooter was convicted on 63 charges, including 11 hate crime murders, and was sentenced to death last year.

The people killed in the shooting were Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Daniel Stein, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Irving Younger, Melvin Wax, and Rose Mallinger.

Amy Mallinger, granddaughter of Rose Mallinger, launched the initiative Remembering, Educating, and Combating Hate (REACH), which works with 30 school districts, engaging with local classrooms, presenting the horrors of the synagogue shooting, and helping students learn and develop ways to combat hate.

“My deepest gratitude to all of you for being here today to help hold the space of remembrance,” Maggie Feinstein, director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership organization said. She thanked the audience for attending the gathering, and the community members who volunteer their time to keep the remembrances alive.

Partnering with CeaseFirePA , the group Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence was created in the aftermath of the shooting. It advocates for legislation to reduce gun violence. Dana Kellerman of Fox Chapel is policy director for  Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence.

“I think the biggest thing that we can be proudest of is our work in encouraging people to get out and vote for the legislators who are going to move the needle because if we don’t have legislators who prioritize reducing gun violence, nothing happens,” Kellerman said.

State Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) of Squirrel Hill introduced a resolution earlier this year to designate May 2024 as “ Jewish American Heritage Month” in Pennsylvania .

But legislative changes to Pennsylvania’s gun laws have failed to gain traction in the divided General Assembly in the years since the synagogue shooting. The state House voted down a pair of bills in May , one that would have banned machine gun conversion devices and another that aimed to curb gun trafficking. Both bills failed by a 101-100 vote.

“The fact that we have cowards in our legislature, it’s really bad,” Kellerman said. “The fact that there are people in our legislature too cowardly to vote for such common sense things as safe storage, banning machine gun conversions, or requiring labeling of parts for ghost guns says that the people in our legislature do not represent their constituents and that a vast and overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians support these common-sense measures.”