POWAY, Calif. (KNSD) – A rabbi shared the terrifying moments when a gunman targeted his synagogue in southern California.
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein is recovering from gunshot wounds to his hands, which were shot as he raised them before the gunman Saturday.
“My missing finger will forever scar me physically, but it’s going to remind me how vulnerable we are and also how heroic each one of us can be,” Rabbi Goldstein said.
After losing one finger on his left hand, he described how, injured and bleeding, he helped shepherd young children to safety.
“I saw the children that were playing in the banquet hall,” Rabbi Goldstein said. “I ran to gather them together. My granddaughter, four-and-a-half years old, sees her grandpa with a bleeding hand and she sees me screaming and shouting, ‘Get out! Get out!’ She didn’t deserve to see her grandfather like this.”
He also shared his grief at the loss of a dear friend, 60-year-old Lori Kaye. He believes she used her body to shield him, and others.
“Lori took the bullet for all of us,” Rabbi Goldstein said. “She died to protect all of us. She didn’t deserve to die. She’s such a kind, sweet-hearted, just a good human being. She didn’t deserve to die, right in front of my eyes. I was the last one to see her. And to be with her, but I do know, that this is Lori. This is her legacy. And her legacy will continue. It could have been so much worse.”
An 8-year-old girl and her 34-year-old uncle were also injured. They were treated at a hospital and released.
Investigators say the 19-year-old gunman fled after the shooting and later surrendered.
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