A 22-year-old was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for carrying out a shooting in a Southern California synagogue on Passover in 2019 that left one dead and three wounded. Among the victims were an 8-year-old girl and the synagogueâs rabbi. Victims and their families will have the opportunity to make victim impact statements to John Earnest at a separate hearing. The San Diego Superior Court judge afforded Earnest no similar privilege, denying the killerâs request to make a statement: âIâm not going to let him use this as a platform to add to his celebrity.â Earnest had told a 911 dispatcher just after the shooting, âIâm defending our nation against the Jewish people, who are trying to destroy all white people.â He faces another potential life sentence in a federal trial in December.
