Rabbi of Chabad of Poway Synagogue Speaks Out

Rabbi of Chabad of Poway Synagogue who survived a tragic shooting at a synagogue near San Diego addressed members of the media and offered words of courage and inspiration. Speaking in front of Chabad of Poway Sunday afternoon, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein said, "We need to battle darkness with light," and thanked President Trump for calling him after the shooting.

Police authorities say the suspect, John Earnest, 19, stormed into the synagogue with an AR-15-style gun yelling anti-Semitic slurs, opened fire on worshippers celebrating the last day of Passover, leaving a woman dead and three other people wounded. The woman has been identified as Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, who friends said was shot while trying to protect the rabbi. She was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein also came face-to-face with the shooter who killed 1 and injured 3 at his California synagogue.

"And I see Laurie laying on the floor unconscious and her dear husband, Dr. Howard Kay, who's like a brother to me, is trying to resuscitate her and he faints. And he's laying there on the floor next to his wife. And then the daughter comes out screaming 'Daddy, Mommy what's going -- ? ' . This is the most heart-wrenching sight I could have seen."

Stories of heroism have emerged following yet another deadly attack at a house of worship, this time at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California and the entire U.S. is holding hope there isn't another tragedy like this on the horizon.