President Trump arrives at Tree of Life synagogue
President Trump, first lady, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner pay their respects at the Tree of Life synagogue.
A pair of Muslim-American groups raised over $200,000 as of Tuesday night to help the victims in the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue where a gunman opened fire and killed 11 people in the bloodiest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
CelebrateMercy and MPower Change started the fundraiser on the site Launch Good and has raised a total of $207,230 since Saturday afternoon.
A portion of the funds has already been distributed to families of the victims to help cover funeral costs, according to 10tv.
"Right now, because in Jewish tradition funerals happen right away, the priority is to help with funeral expenses," Tarek El-Messidi, the founder of Celebrate Mercy, said Monday, according to the outlet.
A portion of the proceeds will also help the six wounded in the shooting, including four police officers, according to the fundraising site.
“Any leftover proceeds, after disbursing funds to victims' families, will be spent on projects that help foster Muslim-Jewish collaboration, dialogue, and solidarity,” organizers said.
The campaign surpassed its original goal of $25,000 in just six hours, and after just two days the fundraiser topped another milestone of $150,000.
President Donald Trump traveled to Squirrel Hill, the historic hub of the city's Jewish community and the location of Tree of Life synagogue. Trump was accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter, Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Accompanied by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, the president, and the first lady laid white roses and stones from the White House - a Jewish tradition - at the makeshift memorial outside the synagogue.
Trump’s visit came on the day that Pittsburgh’s Jewish community held the first in a weeklong series of funerals for the 11 people killed -- allegedly by 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers -- amid complaints in some quarters that his presence would take too much focus off the dead. Some critics have accused Trump of fomenting racial and ethnic hostility and have said he deserves some of the blame for the bloodshed.
The president also visited those injured in the attack at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.
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