Rabbi of San Diego Synagogue Says More People Probably Would Have Been Killed, But Shooter’s Gun ‘Miraculously’ Jammed After First Six Rounds

San Diego synagogue shooting victim Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein seen in an undated Facebook photo. Goldstein was shot in the hand after being reportedly shielded by Gilbert-Kaye when John Earnest, 19, opened fire during Passover services at the Chabad of Poway April, 27, 2019. Gilbert-Kaye was killed.
https://www.facebook.com/yisroel.goldstein.3/photos?lst=502899342%3A534682154%3A1556429894

It was divine intervention.

The gun used by a hate-filled shooter to blast through a San Diego synagogue Saturday miraculously jammed after only a few shots, the house of worship’s Brooklyn-born rabbi told The Post on Sunday.

“One of the miracles was that his gun jammed after the first six rounds,” Chabad of Poway Synagogue Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 57, said by phone from his hospital bed, where he’s recovering from a gunshot wound to the hand.

Suspect John T. Earnest, 19, is accused of killing one congregant and injuring the rabbi and two others before the malfunction.

Goldstein recalled the man storming into the synagogue.

“I turned around instinctively and locked eyes with the shooter, who then aimed his rifle right at me,” he said. “I instinctively put my hands up to protect myself, and I was trying to save [congregant] Lori [Gilbert-Kaye]. But then he got his shots off on my fingers. He took off my right index finger and severely injured my left finger.”

Gilbert-Kaye, 60, is being hailed as a hero for diving in front of the rabbi to shield him from the bullets.

When the suspect’s gun jammed, two congregants — an off-duty border-patrol agent and an ex-Marine — made a B-line for Earnest, and he “took off,” the rabbi said.

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SOURCE: New York Post, Reuven Fenton