Get the latest market trends in your inbox
Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with the Axios Markets newsletter. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Minneapolis-St. Paul
Tampa-St. Petersburg news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa-St. Petersburg
Rapid reaction SWAT members leave the scene of a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Attorney General Jeff Sessions responded Saturday afternoon to the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that took the lives of 11 people, and explained "the Department of Justice will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty."
The big picture: Earlier Saturday, President Trump called to "stiffen up" death penalty laws and said people who commit such crimes should "pay the ultimate price." The gunman had posted anti-semitic messages to social media just prior to entering the synagogue saying, "I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics I'm going in," on social media just minutes before the shooting," CNN reports. The gunman was wounded during the event and has been hospitalized, his condition is unclear.