Funeral held for the oldest Pittsburgh synagogue victim

Mourners gathered in Pittsburgh on Friday for the funeral of the last and oldest of 11 victims gunned down in a massacre at a synagogue, capping a week of grieving for the city.

Rose Mallinger, 97, affectionately known to her family as "Bubbie," the Yiddish word for "grandma," was among the worshipers killed on Oct. 27 when a gunman burst into the Tree of Life synagogue with a semi-automatic rifle and three pistols. Opening fire in the midst of Sabbath prayers, he shouted "All Jews must die."

Andrea Wedner, Mallinger's daughter, was injured in the attack and remained hospitalized in stable condition.

The massacre, following a wave of pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats, has heightened national tensions ahead of U.S. congressional elections on Tuesday that will decide whether U.S. President Donald Trump loses the Republican majority he now enjoys in both chambers.

A long line of mourners waited to pay their respects ahead of Mallinger's funeral at the Rodef Shalom Temple.

"She was a grandmother to all of us," said Bruce Ive, who saw Mallinger regularly at the synagogue. "We all called her Bubbie."

Kevin McCafferty, a contractor who did home improvement projects for Mallinger, was among those in line.

"I was amazed at how alert and engaged she was for a lady of her age," McCafferty said. "We would sit and talk for hours. She was such a lovely lady."

Joint service, vigil on Saturday

In a statement issued earlier this week, Mallinger's family said that for the nonagenarian, Tree of Life was the "centre of her very active life."

"Her involvement with the synagogue went beyond the Jewish religion," the statement read. "It was her place to be social, to be active and to meet family and friends."

The three congregations attacked at a Pittsburgh synagogue will gather for a joint service Saturday, while a prayer vigil is planned outside their desecrated worship space to mark the time the massacre began one week earlier.

The suspect, Robert Bowers, pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges that could result in a death sentence. Bowers, 46, was arraigned on a 44-count indictment charging him with murder, hate crimes, obstructing the practice of religion and other crimes.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said Friday that the two most seriously injured victims have been moved out of the intensive care unit. Hospital officials said a 70-year-old man was upgraded from critical to stable condition, while a 40-year-old police officer remains in stable condition.

The officer was previously identified as Timothy Matson, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The wounded congregant is Daniel Leger, a nurse and hospital chaplain.