Pittsburgh shooting: Hero Dr Jerry Rabinowitz died rushing into gunfire at synagogue to help the wounded

The doctor is one of 11 killed in what’s being considered the deadliest attack against Jews in US history

Dr Jerry Rabinowitz, one of the victims in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend, has been hailed for helping the wounded in his final moments.

The 66-year-old doctor is one of 11 people killed in an apparent antisemitic attack targeting the Tree of Life, a synagogue located in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighbourhood. As a shooter opened fire on the community’s weekly Saturday service, he reportedly rushed to help those injured, according to his nephew, Avisahi Ostrin, who wrote about the tragedy in a public Facebook post.

“In addition to being the president of the congregation, he was a doctor, a healer,” Mr Ostrin wrote on Sunday. “I just learned a short while ago that although the shooter travelled within the building looking for victims, Uncle Jerry wasn’t killed in the basement of the building where the congregation was Davening [praying], he was shot outside the room. Why? Because when he heard shots he ran outside to try and see if anyone was hurt and needed a doctor.”

He added, “That was Uncle Jerry, that’s just what he did.”

A victims list containing each of the names of those killed in the attack, including brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, married couple Bernice and Sylvan Simon and 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, was released on Sunday.

As religious communities across the country mourned what’s being considered the deadliest attack on Jews in US history, reports began to paint a picture of what happened when a gunman stormed the synagogue. Armed with three handguns and a rifle, he reportedly exploited the fact that a door was typically left open during Saturday morning worship and began shooting the worshipping victims.

On Sunday, Mr Ostrin remembered his uncle as a hero, as well as community-oriented man with an “infectious” laugh.

“You know they say there are people who just lighten up a room,” he wrote. “That was Uncle Jerry … It was just his personality. His laughter, with his chest heaving up and down, with a huge smile on his face — that was Uncle Jerry.”

Michael Kerr, a former patient of Dr Rabinowitz, also remembered the doctor as a hero for his work during the “old days” of the national HIV crisis.

“He was the one to go to,” Mr Kerr told NBC News. “He was known in the community for keeping us alive the longest. He often held our hands (without rubber gloves) and always always hugged us as we left his office.”

The doctor was a well-liked family physician and geriatrician who lived in Edgewood Borough.

Dr Rabinowitz is survived by his wife, Miri, his mother, Sally, and his brother, Bill.