What can we learn from the Pittsburg synagogue shooting?

What can we learn from the Pittsburg synagogue shooting?

Meredith Burke | Director of Community Security

On August 3, 2023, the shooter in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history was sentenced to death, following the unanimous vote of a federal jury that found the attacker guilty of 63 federal crimes, including hate crime charges. As we approach the High Holidays season, life-saving lessons can be learned from the October 27, 2018 attack on three congregations at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where 11 were killed and 6 others wounded when the shooter entered the chapel and began firing an automatic weapon.

1. Active Threat Situations Can Happen Anywhere

Like many victims of active threat situations, the Tree of Life congregants felt they worshipped in a safe community and did not anticipate an attack would ever occur there. However, unexpected shootings and other life-threatening attacks can, and do, happen everywhere.

2. We Cannot Predict the Next Active Threat Event, but We Can Prepare for It

The Tree of Life congregants had received extensive training through their security program, including Countering Active Threat and Stop the Bleed courses, as recently as one month before the attack. Surviving congregants credit the training with saving their lives that day. Remembering the “Run, Hide, Fight” model, survivors ran, hid, and ran again to safety. Jewish Long Beach offers the same training to the public every month, free of charge. Please see the Community

Calendar for upcoming training dates at the Alpert JCC. If you want training in person at your Jewish communal facility, please email me at mburke@jewishlongbeach.org. Take the training!

3. Always Carry a Mobile Telephone on Your Person

One month before the attack, training was held at the Tree of Life synagogue during which Security Director Brad Orsini convinced Rabbi Jeffrey Myers that he should always carry a mobile telephone with him, even during services. Rabbi Myers heeded that advice, had his phone on his person, and was the first person to call 9-1-1 to report the shooting.

Mrs. Audrey Glickman, a survivor of the attack, advises women to wear clothing that has pockets large enough to hold their mobile telephone. As she led services that day, her telephone was in her purse away from her because the pants she was wearing that day had very small pockets. Her experience inspired Mrs. Glickman to author and illustrate the book, “Pockets: The Problem with Society is in Women’s Clothing,” which includes do-ityourself instructions for creating pockets in clothing. An alternative could be wearing your cell phone on a neck lanyard to ensure it is always nearby should you need it.

4. Know Your Environment

How well do you know your facility? Once they realized there was a gunman in the building, the survivors of the Tree of Life attack ran, knowing that seconds mattered and realizing if they had stayed in the sanctuary they would have been shot. Some did not feel they could safely run to an exit, so they decided to hide. They found an office where they could do so. Later, when they felt they could, they ran to the closest exit.

Most facilities have an Emergency Operations Plan and post the location of their emergency equipment and medical supplies. Get to know these plans for the buildings you occupy regularly. Don’t be satisfied with just reviewing the plans. Walk around and physically locate the exits, alarm buttons, fire extinguishers, and medical equipment. Create an emergency operations plan for your home, and ensure your family members know how to exit, where to hide, what items might be used to fight, and where medical supplies are kept.

5. Practice Situational Awareness

Some of the Tree of Life survivors described the initial gunshots as sounding like “a clattering noise … like a coat rack had fallen” and “a loud crashing sound … like someone had dropped a tray of glasses.” One survivor stated he did not hear any shots but heard a noise which caused him to turn around and see a man with a gun pointing at him. Although they did not describe the sounds as gunfire, the congregants immediately realized the sounds they heard were not normal for the situation. Being observant allowed the survivors to quickly make decisions about how to respond. These actions saved their lives. When you regularly practice situational awareness, you gain the advantage of time to react, decide upon a plan, and commit to action. BeAware: An Introduction to Situational Awareness is another Jewish Long Beach security training course that focuses on how to practice situational awareness every day.

While we will never forget the lives taken during the Pittsburgh Synagogue attack, we can honor the victims by taking to heart the lessons learned from that day.