MESA, AZ — The shooting at a synagogue outside of San Diego is hitting too close to home for one East Valley rabbi.
Rabbi Laibel Blotner is director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Mesa. He says a few months ago, his daughter married the son of Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was shot during the attack on Saturday.
Blotner says Goldstein is now forced to live with life-long injuries. "He literally came face to face with the shooter and God forbid he could've lost his life," Blotner said.
Blotner says the woman killed in the shooting, Lori Kaye, was close to the Goldstein family and also attended his daughter's wedding.
"She was a vibrant woman, alive and full of energy," Blotner said.
The entire community is now mourning her loss. But Blotner says in the wake of tragedy, there will be light.
"The Jewish people will never allow terrorism, anti-Semitism, evil to flourish," Blotner said. "But we will persevere. We will grow and be stronger than ever before."
Blotner is holding an event on Friday to stand in solidarity with the Poway community. It starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Chabad Jewish Center of Mesa.
