One killed, three injured in California synagogue shooting

A woman was killed and three people were injured after an armed man opened fire at a synagogue in California city of Poway on Saturday, media reported.

The shooting happened at around 11:30 am (local time) when the synagogue was hosting the last day of Passover, a religious service celebrating Jewish freedom. The assailant entered the synagogue and opened fire with an "AR style" weapon at the Chabad of synagogue in Poway, north of the city of San Diego, The New York Times reported.

An older female died in the shooting while three others -- a young woman and two men -- sustained injuries and were in stable condition at a local hospital, the report said.

The suspect, identified as John Earnest, a 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the synagogue shooting.

Following the attack, US President Donald Trump, while addressing reporters outside the White House, called the attack a "hate crime" and offered his "deepest sympathies" to the people affected by the deadly shooting, BBC reported.

"At this moment it looks like a hate crime, but my deepest sympathies to all those affected and we'll get to the bottom of it," BBC quoted Trump as saying.

The California synagogue shooting is the latest in a series of recent attacks at the houses of worship, including the church bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter last week and the mosque shootings in New Zealand last month.

--IANS

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