FBI got tip about San Diego Chabad shooter 5 minutes before synagogue attack

Intelligence agency said it was told about the threat through an online post which did not include 'specific' information about the author or location

Two people hug as another talks to a San Diego County Sheriff's deputy outside of the Chabad of Poway Synagogue, following the deadly attack in April 2019, in Poway, Calif. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

The FBI said this week it had received multiple tips about a security threat minutes before a gunman opened fire in a California synagogue, killing a woman and wounding three others, but did not have enough detail or time to prevent the attack.

Police are investigating what motivated a 19-year-old suspect to open fire on the Chabad of Poway synagogue in suburban San Diego on Saturday, including whether to bring hate crime charges against the man who surrendered to police shortly after the attack.

The FBI said it received tips about an online post referring to a potential attack that did not include “specific” information about the post’s author or location. Investigators immediately began working on identifying the author, but the shooting began only five minutes after the tips arrived.

“The FBI thanks the alert citizens who saw and reported the post,” the bureau said in a statement.

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