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Armed with an assault rifle and at least three handguns, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday morning, killing at least 11 people and wounding six others. The Anti-Defamation League said the attack was among the deadliest against the Jewish community in the United States.

Today Richmond City Council member and AD 15 candidate Jovanka Beckles released a statement on the news of the shooting.

"I extend my deep condolences to the families, friends and relations of the victims of the hate killings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh today. My heart is so heavy, almost beyond bearing," Beckles said, speaking in Berkeley. 

"With hatred and discrimination and anti-Semitism let loose in our land, we must gather to embrace each other in love. 

"All of us must take our own and each other’s pain and together seek healing. We need mutual empathy, understanding, acceptance of types of living, thoughts and beliefs other than our own. We can think, learn, and act together in deeper understanding of our differences and our common humanity that binds us together." 

"We need to mobilize politically to stop hatred, divisiveness and the inequities that subjugate our fellow humans. As we move toward the midterm elections next week, I hope that everyone can sympathize with the vulnerable, with the discriminated-against because that could be any one of us. Our humanity can be expressed politically and in unity."