11 people were killed and six others—including four police officers—injured Saturday when a gunman opened fire during a baby-naming ceremony at the Tree of Life Congregation, a Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The shooter, Robert Bowers, 46, surrendered to the police and was taken to the hospital, a local councilwoman told[1] the The New York Times. Bowers—who has been linked to an account on the social media site Gab that shared anti-Semitic[2] messages—is expected to face hate crime charges. The Anti-Defamation league called[3] the shooting "likely the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States."
Gab, a relatively small social network that claims to "defend individual liberty and free expression online" has fewer restrictions on what users can post than platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Its relative lawlessness has made it a gathering spot for white supremacists and other members of the extreme alt-right. The network released a statement[4] following Saturday's shooting identifying an account believed to have belonged to Bowers, the Synagogue shooter. "The account was verified and matched the name of the alleged shooter’s name, which was mentioned on police scanners," the statement reads. "This person also had accounts on other social networks." Gab says it took down Bowers account and contacted the FBI, according to the post. Paypal banned Gab from its[5] payment platform after Saturday's shooting.
This is the second attack this week in which the perpetrator has been linked to social media accounts that shared online conspiracy theories[6]. Cesar Sayoc, 56, who was arrested earlier this week[7] in connection with 13 explosive devices sent to prominent Democrats and CNN, is believed to have used sites like Twitter to