Deliberations begin in Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting trial

A federal jury began deliberating Thursday in the trial of the man accused of killing 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.

Deliberations began around 2:30 p.m. and ended by 5 p.m. The jurors will continue deliberations Friday morning.

In closing arguments, prosecutors said the gunman, Robert Bowers, methodically shot as many people as he could find because of his hatred for Jews.

"You know now how he hunted his victims throughout the synagogue on multiple floors through multiple rooms," prosecutor Mary Hahn told the jury. "You know how he murdered congregants still wrapped in their prayer shawls and clutching their prayer books.

"We ask that you hold this defendant accountable for everything he did to the worshippers who survived and told you what happened that day, and hold him accountable for all those who could not tell you what happened that day," she said.

The defense in its closing arguments did not dispute that Bowers, 50, carried out the attack. Attorney Elisa Long argued he did so because of his hatred for immigrants and the non-profit Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, rather than his hatred for Jews.

"Stopping religious study was not his intent or motive," Long said.