Synagogue Shooting

President Trump, first lady leave Pittsburgh after trip to synagogue, hospital

PITTSBURGH — President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Pittsburgh on Tuesday in the wake of a shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood that killed 11 people.

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7:45 p.m. UPDATE: The president's plane has departed Pittsburgh.

5:17 p.m. UPDATE: The Trump family has arrived at UPMC Presbyterian, where they are expected to meet with at least one police officer or civilian survivor of the shooting, as well as first responders who were at the scene.

5:10 p.m. UPDATE: After about a half hour, the Trump family has left Tree of Life.

The motorcade is expected to head to UPMC Presbyterian, where two congregants injured in the shooting and two police officers who were seriously injured responding to the shooting are still hospitalized.

What we know about victims killed at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh

5:02 p.m. UPDATE: The Trump family has left the synagogue. The president is carrying a box of stones.

The president and first lady placed those stones on the Star of David markers at the memorial alongside many others. A Jewish tradition, the stones are physical representations of visits to a grave.

Rabbi Myers is talking to the Trumps about the congregants who were killed at the synagogue on Saturday.

Timeline of events at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh

4:40 p.m. UPDATE: The Trump family has arrived at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. After briefly speaking with Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, they entered the temple.

A large number of police and Secret Service agents are stationed outside the synagogue, where the president's motorcade remains parked near the makeshift memorial.

3:40 p.m. UPDATE: President Trump has landed at Pittsburgh International Airport and is making his way to the downtown area of the city. The specific details of his visit have not been publicly released, but he is expected to visit the Squirrel Hill neighborhood and possibly one other location.

3:10 P.M. UPDATE: President Trump's plane has left Washington, D.C., and is expected to arrive in Pittsburgh before 4 p.m.

The city Department of Public Safety has asked residents to stay away from the East End of the city, if possible, and be patient with traffic delays associated with the president's visit.

President Donald Trump will visit Pittsburgh Tuesday following the mass shooting at a Squirrel Hill synagogue. He's expected to land at Pittsburgh International Airport at 3:45 p.m.

The president said late Monday he was looking forward to the visit.

"Well, I'm just going to pay my respects," Trump told Fox News Channel's Laura Ingraham. "I'm also going to the hospital to see the officers and some of the people that were so badly hurt."

Community leaders are split on the visit.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who was conducting Sabbath services at the Tree of Life synagogue when the shooter opened fire, has said he welcomes the president.

"The president of the United States is always welcome. I am a citizen. He is my president. He is certainly welcome," Myers told CNN.

However, the former leader of the synagogue said she does not welcome him, calling the president a purveyor of hate speech.

Timeline of events at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto asked that the president hold off on visiting the city.

"We do not have enough public safety officials to provide enough protection at the funerals and to be able at the same time draw attention to a potential presidential visit. If the President is looking to come to Pittsburgh I would ask that he not do so while we are burying the dead. I would ask that White House staff contact the families and ask them if they want the President to be here."

"We do not have enough public safety officials to provide enough protection at the funerals and to be able at the same time draw attention to a potential presidential visit.  If the President is looking to come to Pittsburgh I would ask that he not do so while we are burying the dead. I would ask that White House staff contact the families and ask them if they want the President to be here."

Peduto will not be meeting with Trump during his visit, a spokesperson said Tuesday, saying the mayor’s attention is solely on the grieving families.

"The president is the grandfather of several Jewish grandchildren. His daughter is a Jewish-American and his son-in-law is the descendant of Holocaust survivors. Tomorrow the president and first lady will travel to Pennsylvania to express the support of the American people and grieve with the Pittsburgh community," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary.

What we know about victims killed at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh

"We have a couple funerals tomorrow, people are grieving. That’s where our hearts and minds are going to be, not in national distraction," said Corey O'Connor, a Pittsburgh city councilman.

No further details have been released about his visit.

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