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Lawyers for man charged in Tree of Life massacre return to court

PITTSBURGH — For the first time, we hard some of the evidence that may be used in Robert Bowers’ trial. He’s accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue back in 2018.

Some of the testimony included anti-Semitic remarks that Bowers allegedly made as he was turning himself into SWAT officers.

Bowers is accused of killing 11 people on Oct. 27, 2018.

>>>RELATED STORY: 11 killed, 6 injured in attack at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue

For several hours during Tuesday’s hearing, attorneys played nearly 70 radio calls between Pittsburgh Police SWAT officers and dispatchers from the morning of the mass shooting.

Tactical Commander Stephen Mescan and SWAT Operator and K-9 officer Clint Thimons both relived their experiences and what they encountered.

They listened to some of the first calls that went out, to when Bowers turned himself in.

Both men were there when they say Bowers crawled down stairs to turn himself in because he was shot. While crawling, the officers testified that Bowers said, “all these Jews need to die.”

Bowers’ defense attorneys filed a motion to suppress anti-Semitic statements that police say Bowers made as he was turning himself in.

The officers also testified that they assumed there were multiple shooters inside the synagogue, so they made up a ruse to get Bowers to give information, and told him they saw him and ‘his buddy’ walking into the synagogue on security cameras.

Bowers then allegedly told officers that must have been “an *expletive* Jew” and that he came by himself.

Bowers was not in the courtroom.