The executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh is offering protection for the Jewish community’s religious services after a mass shooting at a synagogue in the city left 11 people dead.
“We just want to know what you need,” Wasi Mohamed said late Sunday. “If it’s people outside your next service protecting you, let us know. We’ll be there.
“If you need anything at all, if you need food for the families, if you just need someone to come to the grocery store because you don’t feel safe in this city, we’ll be there. And I’m sure everybody in the room would say the same thing.”
Mohamed made the offer while announcing that the Muslim-American community had raised more than $70,000 for the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue.
By Monday morning, the crowdfunding campaign, which was launched by the nonprofit organizations Celebrate Mercy and MPower Change, had raised over $120,000 from about 2,800 supporters.
The funds will cover costs such as funeral expenses and medical bills for the victims and their families.
The announcement came just a day after Robert Bowers, 46, allegedly opened fire in the Tree of Life Synagogue and killed 11 congregants in what was one of the deadliest attacks on the Jewish community in American history.
It was at least the third mass shooting in a place of worship in the U.S. in the last three years.