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.
Police did not disclose exact details of the emailed threat Tuesday, 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 morning “was very quickly determined to be a hoax,” said the spokesperson, Cara Cruz.
Robert Bowers opened fire at the synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, killing 11 people and wounding seven others.
A jury found him guilty in June 2023 on 63 counts, which included hate crimes, and he has been sentenced to death.
Authorities made no connection between the 2018 mass shooting and Tuesday’s hoax bomb threat.
The Anti-Defamation League said in April that bomb threats to Jewish institutions in the U.S. increased “dramatically” last year compared to 2022.
The ADL said its Center on Extremism counted 1,009 antisemitic bomb threats last year, 906 of which targeted synagogues. The ADL said only 91 bomb threats were logged in 2022.
The group said the increase is in part due to tensions following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas militants against Israel and Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza.
