Man with connection to synagogue shooting suspect arrested, FBI investigating

WASHINGTON — A Washington, D.C., man who killed himself the same day as the Tree of Life mass shooting in Pittsburgh may have been planning his own attack, according to federal documents.

Edward “Teddy” Clark shot himself at Theodore Roosevelt Island on Oct. 27 sometime before 12:45 p.m., an FBI agent wrote in a criminal complaint charging Clark’s brother, Jeffrey, with weapons violations.

That same day, police say Robert Bowers walked into the Tree of Life synagogue just before 10 a.m. with AR-15 and three handguns and opened fire, killing 11 people and injuring six more, including four police officers.

Bowers faces 44 charges in connection with the shooting.

RELATED:

• What we know about victims killed at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
• Timeline of events at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh
• What we know about officers injured in synagogue shooting
• How to help victims of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
• 'I was just breaking down, I couldn't hold it': Worker inside synagogue recounts shooting
• What we know about Robert Bowers, suspect in mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue

Family members allegedly told the FBI that the Clark brothers were connected to Bowers through Gab, a social media platform popular with white nationalists, according to the complaint. Bowers’ last post on Gab, which is cooperating with investigators, read, “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics. I’m going in.”

Edward Clark, 23, was found dead with a Beretta pistol holding eight rounds as well as two more fully loaded magazines, according to the complaint. Family members told federal authorities they “believed he may have been planning to commit an act of violence on the day that he died.”

If you want to receive BREAKING ALERTS, please download our WPXI News App.  You can also follow WPXI on Facebook and Twitter. 

After Bowers’ attack and his brother’s suicide, Jeffrey Clark became more outspoken about his views, family members allegedly told investigators, defending Bowers’ attack and saying he and his brother “had both fantasized about killing ‘Jews and blacks.’”

A post on Jeffrey Clark’s Gab page shows a picture of Bowers holding a gun and splattered in what appears to be blood, according to the complaint. Clark allegedly wrote, “Get used to it libtards. This was a dry run for things to come.”

The Clark brothers allegedly smoked lots of marijuana and played video games such as “Ethnic Cleansing,” family members told investigators.

A search of the Clarks’ home, where they lived with their father and sister, yielded two muzzle-loading pistols, two ballistic vests and two ballistic helmets, according to the complaint. Agents also allegedly found a marijuana grow operation, including plants and smoking devices.

After Jeffrey Clark was arrested, he allegedly admitted to the FBI that he belonged to white nationalist groups and that he may have had conversations with Bowers on Gab but could not remember. The FBI says Jeffrey Clark and Bowers were friends on Gab.

Four guns were registered to the brothers, including a rifle and a shotgun, according to the complaint. Boxes of gun parts Clark allegedly gave to relatives after Oct. 27 contained four high-capacity AR-15 magazines capable of holding up to 30 rounds, as well as components that could be used to modify AR-15 rifles.

Jeffrey Clark faces federal charges of possessing high capacity magazines and unlawful possession by person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story featured an image taken from Clark's social media profile that depicted a person other than himself.

Cox Media Group