SWAT personnel testify in Day 5 of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

At the start of the second week of testimony in the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the jury heard from SWAT team members, including a police officer and paramedics, who described what they encountered inside the synagogue while the shooting was underway.

First on the stand: Officer Michael Saldutte testified that as he entered the Tree of Life – or the L’Simcha Congregation — building, he continued to come across bodies of victims in pools of blood.

Saldutte said as he and Officer Tim Matson entered the darkened room where defendant Robert Bowers was shooting, Matson fell, hit by gunfire. Saldutte dove in front of Matson, using his own body armor to shield the wounded officer.

Saldutte could hear gunfire and see flashes from Bowers’ muzzle moving across the dark room. He said his own weapon ran out of ammo as they were under fire, and he had to leave the room and crawl upstairs to reload. He says another officer was putting a tourniquet on a wounded officer’s arm.

Read more: WTAE