The family of the man accused in the fatal shooting at a Poway synagogue expressed shame Monday that their son is “now part of the history of evil” perpetrated against the Jewish people.
The family said, in a statement released through their attorney, they are “shocked and deeply saddened by the attack.”
Around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, 19-year-old John T. Earnest allegedly walked into the Chabad of Poway synagogue where around 100 were gathering for service on the last day of the Passover and opened fire, killing Lori Kaye, wounding Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 8-year-old Noya Dahan and her 34-year-old uncle Almog Peretz.
The suspect was charged Monday with one count of murder with a hate-crime special circumstance and gun allegations, three counts of attempted murder with hate-crime and gun allegations and arson of a house of worship. He allegedly took credit for the attempted arson of the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido on March 24.
Prior to the shooting, an “open letter” posted by someone by the same name of the suspect claiming his hatred for the Jewish people.
“Our son’s actions were informed by people we do not know, and ideas we do not hold,” the Earnest family said. “Like our other five children, he was raised in a family, a faith, and a community that all rejected hate and that taught that love must be the motive for everything we do. How our son was attracted to such darkness is a terrifying mystery to us.”
The suspect was the middle child in a family of six siblings, the family’s attorney Earll M. Pott told KPBS. Pott said the family was horrified when they heard the news.
“It’s just horrifying news,” he said. “They’ve been the community for 20, 30 years, maybe more. This something that not any family prepares for.”
The suspect attended Mt. Carmel High School, where his father, John Earnest, is an Advanced Placement Physics teacher and graduated in 2017.
In a statement, the school said, “The words and actions of this individual are in no way representative of the beliefs held by our school community nor by his father, a long-time teacher at MCHS.”
The statement went on to say that the school “continue(s) to work closely with the Anti-Defamation League to create an inclusive and respectful school culture for all students and staff.”
The suspected gunman is a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos.
“We are dismayed and disheartened that the alleged shooter … is a CSUSM student,” Cal State San Marcos president Karen S. Haynes said. “CSUSM is working collaboratively with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to assist and gain more information.”
