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Mother of alleged Pittsburgh synagogue shooter expresses remorse for victims

PITTSBURGH — Only Channel 11 is getting the message of grief and remorse from the mother of Robert Bowers, the alleged gunman in Saturday's attack that left 11 people dead inside the Tree of Life Synagogue.

The Rev. Mark Schollaert told Channel 11 he knows Bowers and has been trying help his mother, Barbara Bolt, as she talks to authorities and processes the tragedy.

"It's been an emotional trauma for her as well," said Schollaert. "Her heart is really broken for all of the families involved."

Schollaert has been at the side of Barbara Bolt since Saturday, when she got the news that her only son, Robert Bowers, allegedly walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue and gunned down 11 people.

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"We just want the community to know that Barb is broken-hearted and that we as a community with her are praying for the families," Schollaert said.

He said she is totally distraught and her heart is absolutely broken for the victims and their families.

She wants them to know that she is sorry and that she is praying for them just as much as everyone else.

Schollaert said he knew Bowers, although Bowers did not attend his First Baptist Church in Monogahela.

Like many neighbors and former employers Channel 11 has interviewed over the last several days, Schollaert said the family did not know that Bowers was allegedly deeply involved in anti-Semitic online communities and posted hateful messages about Jewish people.

New documents released to Channel 11 show several run-ins between Dormont police officers and Bowers when he lived there in the late 1990's and early 2000s. But the police chief said those incidents were minor and not indicative of an alleged mass murderer.

While FBI agents put together their case against Bowers, his mother wants the 11 victims' families and extended families to know that she is very sorry.

"Everybody will be forever changed and for that we are heartbroken," Schollaert said.

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