Pittsburgh police are investigating a hoax bomb threat that was made Tuesday to the Tree of Life synagogue, which was the scene of a hate-fueled attack in 2018 that left 11 people dead, a spokesperson said.
Exact details of the emailed threat Tuesday morning were not disclosed by police, but a city police spokesperson said that it was “a hoax in line with other similar threats against synagogues around the country.”
The emailed threat received late Tuesday “was very quickly determined to be a hoax,” the spokesperson, Cara Cruz, said.
Gunman Robert Bowers opened fire at the synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, killing 11 people and wounding seven others.
He was found guilty by a jury in June 2023 on 63 counts, which included hate crimes, and has been sentenced to death.
Authorities made no connection between the 2018 mass shooting and Tuesday’s hoax bomb threat.
While 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 “dramatically” last year compared to 2022.
The ADL said its Center on Extremism counted 1,009 antisemitic bomb threats in 2023, 906 of which targeted synagogues. The ADL said there were only 91 bomb threats logged in 2022.
The group said the increase is part due to tensions following the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas against Israel, and Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza.
