John T. Earnest had no reaction when San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh ruled that a trial will proceed for Earnest on murder and attempted murder charges in the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue during services on the last day of Passover.

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Earnest, 20, will also be tried on an arson charge for a fire at a nearby mosque that happened before the synagogue shooting.

Prosecutors on Thursday played a 12-minute recording of the gunman calmly telling a 911 dispatcher that he had just shot up a synagogue to save white people from Jews.

Earnest could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murder as a hate crime, although prosecutors haven't said whether they will pursue capital punishment.

The 911 recording was heard publicly for the first time at Thursday's dramatic hearing, which included playing the surveillance video of the shooting and a congregant describing how he confronted the gunman and chased him away.

"I'm defending our nation against the Jewish people, who are trying to destroy all white people," said the caller on the 911 recording who identified himself as Earnest.

He provided details of where he was waiting for police and promised to leave his AR-15 assault rifle on the passenger seat. He said he would get out of the car with a supply of bullets hanging on the chest of his vest, as if his surrender had already been planned.

Also at the hearing, Oscar Stewart spoke publicly for the first time about confronting Earnest as shots rang out from the lobby.

"People were falling over each other. It was chaos," he said. "I screamed [to everyone]. 'Get down! Get out here.'"

Stewart, 51, was standing toward the back of the service when shots rang. He said he took three or four steps to flee and turned around for reasons he still can't explain.

"He was firing in front of me," Stewart said. "I was paying attention to the rifle."

As the gunman struggled to reload, Stewart said he relied on combat training to try to distract him from his plan of attack.

"I told him I was going to kill him," said Stewart, who served in both the Persian Gulf War in the 1990s and Iraq after the 9/11 attacks.

Stewart walked across the street after the suspect fled, as shown in the surveillance video, and banged on the side of his car. He said he worried the shooter might attack a church next door or a grocery store down the street.

Stewart got out of the way after an off-duty Border Patrol agent at the service said from behind that he had a gun. The agent fired about five shots as the gunman drove away erratically.

Earnest is also charged with trying to burn down a mosque weeks earlier in nearby Escondido, where seven people on a spiritual retreat were sleeping. They awoke to flames and managed to extinguish the fire.

Outside the mosque, authorities say, the suspect had scrawled the name of a man accused of shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that killed 51 people earlier last spring.

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Celebrity website TMZ, citing unnamed sources, was first to report that Sirhan, 75, had been stabbed.

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Replying to a request for confirmation that Sirhan was wounded, Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said that an inmate had been stabbed at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego.

The wounded inmate was taken to a hospital outside the prison and is listed in stable condition, Callison said in a statement, and that a suspect has been identified in the assault.

In a follow-up email, Callison declined to identify the wounded inmate as Sirhan, citing department policy to not name victims.

A jury in 1969 found Sirhan guilty of assassinating Kennedy the previous year by opening fire with a .22-caliber pistol into a small crowd surrounding the Democratic candidate in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Kennedy, a US senator from New York, was hit three times and died the next day. He was later buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, near his brother, President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

Sirhan has said he fired at Kennedy because he was enraged by his support for Israel.

Five bystanders were wounded during the shooting. In the chaos, Los Angeles Rams football player Rosey Grier, Olympic champion Rafer Johnson, and others wrestled the murder weapon away.

Sirhan was sentenced to death, but the sentence was changed to life in prison after California suspended the death penalty in 2014. He has been denied parole several times.

As a high-profile prisoner, Sirhan had once been kept in a protective housing unit at Corcoran State Prison in Northern California. After he told authorities several years ago that he would prefer being housed with the general prison population, he was moved to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

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John T. Earnest, 19, also told a San Diego Sheriff's detective that he was inspired by Adolf Hitler and the suspected gunman in the New Zealand mosque shooting last March.

The search warrant, which was unsealed in a hate crimes case against Earnest, offered a few new details about the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue on the last day of Passover, including when Earnest became drawn to anti-Semitism and hatred of Islam.

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San Diego police found a helmet with a video camera on it in Earnest's car when the San Diego man was arrested almost immediately after the April 27 shooting, which killed 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injured three others. He had an AR-15 rifle in his vehicle. Earnest said on the 8chan website that he planned to stream the attack live on Facebook. He never did.

"At that time, Earnest did not appear to be under the influence of a controlled substance but did appear to have a 'flat affect' as though he was detached or unaffected by his actions," the warrant states in recounting an interview that he gave to a San Diego police detective immediately after being detained.

Earnest has pleaded not guilty to a 113-count federal indictment and faces charges of murder and attempted murder in state court, both of which may make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. He also pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges of trying to burn a mosque in the nearby city of Escondido.

Court documents said Earnest dialed 911 after fleeing the synagogue in his car and said: "I just shot up a synagogue." He went on to tell the dispatcher that he did it "because Jewish people are destroying the white race," according to the affidavit.

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U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. said it's possible the suspect, John T. Earnest, could face the death penalty following last month's shooting at Chabad of Poway, in a suburb north of San Diego. A decision on that will be made at a later date, Brewer said.

The new charges against Earnest, 19, also include an earlier arson at a nearby mosque.

"We will not allow our community members to be hunted in their houses of worship, where they should feel free and safe to exercise their right to practice their religion," Brewer said at news conference.

The federal charges include murder for the killing of 60-year-old Lori Kaye, who was hit twice as she prayed in the foyer of the synagogue. It also includes charges for the attempted murder of 53 others.

Three people were wounded, including an 8-year-old girl, her uncle and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was leading a service on the last day of Passover.

"As a society, we must surely focus on the preventive measure of instilling in our youth a sense of personal accountability to a Higher Being, in whose image every human being was created," Chabad of Poway said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

In the most detailed account yet, a federal affidavit said Earnest legally bought a semiautomatic rifle from a licensed dealer in San Diego a day before the April 27 attack. He walked into the synagogue with the AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle that was fully loaded with a 10-round magazine. He wore a chest rig with five more magazines carrying a total of 50 bullets.

The shooter emptied his magazine and stopped as he struggled to reload it, according to the affidavit. That's when several members of the congregation, including an off-duty Border Patrol agent, chased Earnest from the synagogue.

After the gunman fled, he called 911 from his car and told a dispatcher what he had done, and said he thought he had killed some people because "I'm just trying to defend my nation from the Jewish people. … They're destroying our people," according to the affidavit.

He then told the dispatcher, "the Jewish people are destroying the white race."

In a court appearance last month, Earnest pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and attempted murder. In a separate case, he has pleaded not guilty to burning a mosque in nearby Escondido.

Prosecutors say Earnest had expressed his "intent to harm Jews" in an online posting, a copy of which was also found on his laptop.

In the same posting, he also acknowledged using gasoline to spark a blaze that charred a wall of the mosque in Escondido, authorities said. The fire started at about 3:15 a.m. when seven people on a spiritual retreat were inside the building sleeping at the time, according to investigators. They saw flames coming through the crack of one of the doors, grabbed water and quickly extinguished it.

In the posting, a man identified as Earnest said he was inspired by the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last fall and the shooting at two mosques in New Zealand last month that killed 50 people, according to the affidavit. A copy of the web posting of the New Zealand suspect Brenton Tarrant was found on his laptop and the suspect said he wrote Tarrant's name on the parking lot of the mosque after the fire.

The suspect wrote that "it's so easy to … get away with burning a synagogue (or mosque)" or shoot up an immigration center or "traitorous" politicians.

Earnest was an accomplished student, athlete and musician whose embrace of white supremacy and anti-Semitism stunned his family and others closest to him. He lived with his parents and made the dean's list both semesters last year as a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos.

Authorities said Earnest frequented 8chan, a dark corner of the web where those disaffected by mainstream social media sites often post extremist, racist and violent views.

"I've only been lurking here for a year and half, yet what I've learned here is priceless. It's been an honor," he wrote.

Federal hate crime charges were also filed against the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at the Pittsburgh synagogue.

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He is the most senior Trump administration official yet to visit the site.

"We must continue to stamp out anti-Semitism & all other forms of hate. Rabbi [Yisroel] Goldstein is a pillar of strength for his community/our nation. A very moving visit. He & others acted heroically. I shared the Administration's heartfelt sorrow for Poway's loss & thanked him for his message to turn a hateful act into a lesson on tolerance," he tweeted.

Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, was killed in the attack and three others injured, including the founding rabbi of the Chabad center and an 8-year-old girl.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent who was in the synagogue, which is located about a half-hour outside of San Diego, fired at the suspect, 19-year-old John Earnest, hitting his car. The gunman fled the scene but was soon apprehended without incident after he called 911 to admit to committing the crime, in addition to providing his location.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Earnest was armed with an "AR-type assault weapon," and added that he was being interviewed by the FBI and detectives.

The attack occurred exactly six months after the deadliest shooting in American Jewish history, when a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Earnest pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and hate-crime charges. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty, despite California's moratorium on capital punishment.

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Kaye's daughter, Hannah, said at her memorial service that she knows her mother would already have forgiven the man who took her life Saturday when he opened fire during Passover service at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, in this suburban city north of San Diego.

The memorial service for Kaye, 60, drew hundreds, including the three people wounded in the attack, federal and state lawmakers, a U.S. State Department envoy on anti-Semitism and a representative of the Israeli government, along with local city and police leaders.

Hannah said her mother would have loved to have seen such a large crowd so she could greet them all. She loved people, opening her home on every major Jewish holiday and making grand feasts.

Kaye was known to drive hours to visit a sick friend. She bought six months' worth of medication for someone without insurance. She left her freshly baked challah in mailboxes and on doorsteps all over town and was known to buy extra bagels and coffee during her morning routine to be able to give them away, her family and friends said.

Her mission was to make others enjoy life, just as she did. She gave to scores of charities.

That's why Kaye's daughter Hannah said she knows in her heart that her mother has forgiven the 19-year-old man accused of killing her. She would have responded with love.

"Her light has reached all crevices of this planet," Hannah Kaye said.

Hannah Kaye said she would miss singing in the car with her mother and dancing in the kitchen. She told her before she died that she was her best friend.

"Everyone was her sister, everyone was her trusted confidante," Hannah Kaye said. "Everyone was her friend."

The synagogue's rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, lost one of his fingers in the shooting and comforted worshippers with his hand wrapped in blue bandages. Noya Dahan, 8, and her uncle Almog Peretz both suffered leg wounds in the attack but were released from the hospital and honored Kaye on Monday.

The U.S. State Department's new envoy on anti-Semitism told the congregation that her death will not be in vain. He said the Trump administration is committed to fighting evil wherever it lurks.

"I'm here to say we are at war with these people," Elan Carr said, vowing to fight anti-Semitism in "every city in the United States."

Kaye devoted her life to her Jewish faith and living its values of generosity and caring for others, her friends and family said. She kept a pole in their front yard with the words "May peace prevail on Earth" in several different languages, including Hebrew and Spanish.

"She had a soul that was greater than any of us ever could believe," said her husband, Dr. Howard Kaye.

Kaye performed CPR on his wife after she was shot. He said she did not suffer.

"She went straight up," he said.

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"I condemn the abhorrent attack on a synagogue in California; this is an attack on the heart of the Jewish people. We send condolences to the family of Lori Gilbert Kaye and our best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded," Netanyahu said.

"The international community must step up the struggle against anti-Semitism," Netanyahu added.

Later this week, the prime minister plans to convene a special meeting to discuss the uptick in anti-Semitic attacks worldwide.

On Saturday, a gunman opened fire inside a synagogue near San Diego as worshippers celebrated the last day of Passover. The attack came exactly six months after 11 people were killed by a gunman at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October.

As news of the shooting spread, reactions poured in from Israeli, American and Jewish leaders throughout the world.

President Reuven Rivlin said, "We were shocked and grieved to hear of the shooting at Chabad of Poway, California yesterday. The murderous attack on the Jewish community during Pesach, our holiday of freedom, and just before Holocaust Memorial Day, is yet another painful reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is still with us, everywhere. No country and no society are immune. Only through education for Holocaust remembrance and tolerance can we deal with this plague."

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said, "The State of Israel is sorrowful about the horrible terrorist attack at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue, where Lori Gilbert Kaye lost her life. Our hearts and prayers are with Lori's family and the wounded of this attack. We are here to assist the local Jewish community however and whenever necessary."

The Pittsburgh synagogue that six months ago was the site of the deadliest U.S. attack on Jews offered its sympathy to the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego.

The Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 people were killed by a gunman in October, released a statement on Saturday that "THIS MUST STOP. We are heartbroken – and appalled and outraged – by the news of the attack at the Poway Synagogue near San Diego today. This must stop. It was only six months ago to the day that we became members of that tragic club of community-based shootings to which no one wants to belong. We know first-hand the fear, anguish and healing process such an atrocity causes, and our hearts are with the afflicted San Diego families and their congregation. We will not give in to H(asterisk). We send our love and prayers to the Chabad families. These senseless acts of violence and prejudice must end. Enough is enough!"

Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement: "This shooting is a reminder of the enduring virulence of anti-Semitism. It must serve as a call to action for us as a society to deal once and for all with this hate. People of all faiths should not have to live in fear of going to their house of worship. From Charleston to Pittsburgh to Oak Creek and from Christchurch to Sri Lanka, and now Poway, we need to say 'enough is enough.'"

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder released a statement saying that "there is absolutely no justification or explanation for such violence, and it is inconceivable that, yet again, innocent people have been targeted simply for their religion and for choosing to attend a place of worship. … There is no room for such hate-filled violence in our society. People of all faiths must stand together and declare that we will never tolerate such hatred."

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield said in a statement: "Now our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. But moving forward this must serve as yet another wake-up call that antisemitism is a growing and deadly menace. The Holocaust is a reminder of the dangers of unchecked antisemitism and the way hate can infect a society. All Americans must unequivocally condemn it and confront it in wherever it appears."

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters, said, "My deepest sympathies go to the people that were affected – the families, the loved ones – by the, obviously, looks right now based on my last conversations – looks like a hate crime. Hard to believe, hard to believe. With respect to the synagogue in California near San Diego. We're doing some very heavy research. We'll see what happens, what comes up. At this moment it looks like a hate crime. But my deepest sympathies to all of those affected. And we'll get to the bottom of it. It looks like the person was apprehended, no more danger. And law enforcement has done a fantastic job."

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Twitter, "Coming just six months after the horrific mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, we are confronted with what appears to be another anti-Semitic attack. We all stand with the Jewish community against this act of hate."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement: "California sends our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims of today's shooting at the Chabad of Poway. … We join the Poway community in its grief and, together with all Californians, recognize the bravery and heroism of our first responders. … No one should have to fear going to their place of worship, and no one should be targeted for practicing the tenets of their faith."

Steve Vaus, the mayor of Poway, where the shooting took place, said on Twitter: "Hate has no place in ANY community … least of all Poway. We will put our arms around each other and walk through this tragedy as the family we have always been and always will be."

Longtime civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson said, "We offer our prayers for those killed and wounded in San Diego. In this hateful environment, there is a target on the back of blacks and Jews. … The environment is toxic. The winds are blowing and we must detoxify the environment. Those who do things to set the climate are equally responsible. 19-year-olds are not born hateful. It is developed and learned. We must ban assault weapons."

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"I had to do it, if I hadn't have done it – I'd have been a coward, I would have carried it on my conscience for the rest of my life," said Peretz, 34, who is in the United States visiting his sister, Eden Dahan, and her family, who moved there several years ago.

Peretz was sitting next to the emergency exit of the Chabad of San Diego County synagogue when the shooting began.

"I understood I had to get [the girls] out of the synagogue and run with them toward the houses [outside]. The emergency exit saved us; my luck was that I was right next to the door and he [suspected shooter John Earnest, 19, of San Diego] shot at me. He pointed the gun at me, I saw him do it. He saw me and didn't shout anything. He stood in the same spot the entire time, next to the entrance to the synagogue because he wanted to be close to the door – to get away. If I was losing my mind, imagine what the kids were going through; they didn't know where to run."

While in the midst of gathering his nieces, Peretz was shot in the leg. "While the shooting was going on I didn't feel a thing, just heat in the area I was hit; but in the moment I was full of adrenaline, I jumped from place to place. I didn't notice I was hit," he recounted.

Peretz was able to get the children outside to safety but when he reached the rabbi's home, he realized one of his nieces, Leanne, wasn't with him.

"When we got to the rabbi's house I suddenly saw I didn't have Leanne, my niece. I went back to the synagogue and the shooter had already fled; someone brought the girl to me. She had stayed in the bathroom and didn't come out."

About being labeled a hero, Peretz said: "If one of the girls had been wounded – it would have been on my conscience. I had to get them out of there alive. They didn't know where to run, if [the shooter] had moved closer he would have killed all the children. There have been some very touching conversations, everyone here has commended me and strengthened me, cared for me – and thanked me."

Aside from Peretz, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and Noya Dahan, 8, were also wounded in the attack. Lori Kaye, 60, of Poway was killed, reportedly while trying to save Goldstein. Kaye is survived by her husband and 22-year-old daughter.

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Israel Dahan and three of his five children were at Sabbath services at Congregation Chabad in Poway, near San Diego, on Saturday when a gunman opened fire, killing a woman and wounding three others in what local authorities deemed a hate crime.

Dahan, speaking on Israel Radio on Sunday, said his family was no stranger to violence, having lived in Israel in Sderot, a town on the Gaza border that has been a frequent target of Palestinian rocket attacks.

"We came from fire to fire," he said. "We left Sderot because of the shelling. My house was hit several times. My mother's house, my mother-in-law's house were hit several times. I was also wounded several times. … We wanted to move far away."

Dahan's 8-year-old daughter, Noya, was wounded in the synagogue shooting, on the last day of Passover, as was his brother-in-law.

"I began to shout that people should flee," Dahan said about the initial moments of the attack. "Thank God his gun jammed."

Eden Dahan, Noya's mother, said her brother Almog saved the lives of her daughter and the other children in the synagogue. Eden said her neighbor's 5-year-old daughter Yuli began to run toward the shooter and Almog had been hit by a bullet when he ran over to her and picked her up.

"He grabbed her and ran toward my girls. He found Noya, my daughter, grabbed her hand with Yuli still in his arms and as soon as he grabbed Noya, he sustained shrapnel from the bullet. She sustained it near her eye and was wounded in the leg. With all of the mayhem and the blood, he ran with them toward the synagogue's emergency exit." She said Almog took all the children to the rabbi's house next door.

According to Eden, it was at this point that Almog realized his niece Leanne was missing and he risked his life to go back into the synagogue to look for her. Eden noted that Leanne had gotten locked inside a bathroom stall and had been unable to get out.

"Almog saved my daughters, he saved all the children. He just didn't think about anything except how to save the children. He's a hero. It's just crazy."

Authorities identified the alleged gunman as a 19-year-old San Diego resident and said his weapon apparently malfunctioned after the first rounds he fired.

Israel Dahan said his family had been living in Poway for the past three years,  and that it was not the first time they had been the victim of a hate crime.

In 2015, the Dahans were residing in Mira Mesa, about 10 miles from Poway, when swastikas were daubed on their house and vehicle during the Passover holiday.

A local news report at the time said the family moved to the United States in 2014 seeking a safer environment for their children.

"But that's life," Israel said, recalling the swastika incident and how he had briefly locked eyes with the synagogue assailant.

Asked whether he regretted their move from Israel, he said: "No. We love America. … It can happen anywhere – in any mall, and in any hospital and in any family gathering and in any place. We are strong. We were born to be strong."

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The suspect, who fled the scene by car but surrendered to police a short time later, was identified by authorities as John Earnest, 19, of San Diego, the apparent author of a "manifesto" who claimed to have set a nearby mosque on fire last month and professed drawing inspiration from the gunman who killed nearly 50 people at two mosques in New Zealand.

Rabbi Yonah Fradkin, executive director of Chabad of San Diego County, said in a statement that Lori Kaye, 60, of Poway was killed. He said those wounded in the shooting were Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Noya Dahan, 8, and Almog Peretz, 34.

"In the face of senseless hate we commit to live proudly as Jews in this glorious country," Fradkin said. "We strongly believe that love is exponentially more powerful than hate. We are deeply shaken by the loss of a true woman of valor, Lori Kaye, who lost her life solely for living as a Jew."

Local reports said that Kaye had jumped in front of the synagogue's founding rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, to save him.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said police and FBI were investigating Earnest's "possible involvement" in an unsolved predawn arson on March 24 at the Islamic Center of Escondido, a town about 24 kilometers (15 miles) north of the synagogue attacked on Saturday. No one was hurt at the mosque fire.

Gore said Earnest, whose weapon apparently malfunctioned after the first several rounds he fired, had no prior criminal record.

The attack occurred shortly before 11:30 a.m. in Poway, a suburb of about 50,000 residents some 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of downtown San Diego, when the suspect walked into the synagogue and started shooting, Gore said. As he was making his getaway, an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent opened fire on the suspect, striking the vehicle but apparently missing the suspect, according to Gore.

The gunman was arrested a short time later when he gave himself up to police.

A San Diego officer was en route to the shooting scene when he overheard a California Highway Patrol radio dispatch "of a suspect who had called into CHP to report that he was just involved in this shooting and his location," San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit recounted.

"The officer was actually on the freeway and he clearly saw the suspect in his vehicle. The suspect pulled over and jumped out of his car with his hands up and was immediately taken into custody," Nisleit said.

He said the assault-style rifle believed to be the murder weapon was found on the front passenger seat of the car.

The synagogue was hosting a holiday celebration beginning at 11 a.m. and due to culminate in a final Passover meal at 7 p.m. Authorities said about 100 people were inside the temple at the time of the shooting.

A man who lives nearby, Christopher Folts, said on CNN he heard six to seven gunshots, then a man yelling, followed by six to seven more shots.

Cantor Caitlin Bromberg of Ner Tamid Synagogue, down the street from the shooting scene, said her congregation learned of the shooting at the end of their Passover services and that they headed to Chabad of Poway to show support and help.

"We are horrified and upset, and we want them to know we are thinking of them," Bromberg told The Los Angeles Times, adding that she has not heard from Chabad of Poway leadership because they would not normally use the phone during the Sabbath.

"They would only do that on emergency basis, if they do it at all," Bromberg told the newspaper.

The gun violence at the Congregation Chabad synagogue unfolded six months to the day after 11 worshippers were killed and six others wounded by a gunman who stormed the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh yelling, "All Jews must die."

The assailant in that massacre, said to be the deadliest attack ever against Jews on U.S. soil, was arrested.

Saturday's Passover violence followed a recent spate of deadly attacks on houses of worship around the world. Suicide bombings during Easter Sunday services at several churches in Sri Lanka killed more than 350 people. A gunman who opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15 left 49 people dead and more than 40 wounded, some as they knelt in prayer.

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus characterized Saturday's shooting as a "hate crime," saying his assessment was based on statements uttered by the gunman when he entered the synagogue.

At a news conference later, Gore told reporters: "Clearly it's being investigated as a homicide, but we're also looking at the hate crime possible violation as well as federal civil rights violations."

A rambling, violently anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim screed written by an individual calling himself John Earnest was found posted to the online text-storage site Pastebin.com and the file-storage site Mediafire.com. Links to the content on both sources were posted on the Internet message board 8chan.

In that letter, the author also claimed credit for the Escondido mosque arson, which was put out by congregants inside who were alerted by the smell of smoke. Local media at the time reported that a message scrawled on the driveway of the mosque mentioned the New Zealand massacre.

Speaking with reporters at the White House about Saturday's attack, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "My deepest sympathies go to the people that were affected." He added that "it looks like a hate crime" and that authorities will "get to the bottom of it."

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Gov. Gavin Newsom offered their condolences to the Jewish community as well.

Newsom said "no one should have to fear going to their place of worship."

Pelosi said on Twitter that she stands with the Jewish community against "this act of hate."

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