Scene of the massacre
Scene of the massacreReuters

Steven Halle, nephew of Dan Stein, 71, who was murdered in the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, described his uncle to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, remembering him as a kind soul always willing to lend a hand.

“He was always willing to help anybody,” Halle said. “He was somebody that everybody liked, very dry sense of humor and recently had a grandson who loved him.”

“This is going to be a horrible loss for the baby growing up without a grandfather,” said Halle, 55, of Pittsburgh’s Regent Square neighborhood. “We’re still trying to get everything together with my aunt and my cousins. It’s really hard right now.”

“He was very active and he did everything,” Halle said. “He was there every Saturday for services.”

Stein’s family said that he had come to the synagogue for Shabbat-morning prayers at the Tree of Life synagogue. When they heard about the shooting and couldn’t reach Stein, they understood that he had been murdered.

“I think everybody was in a fog today,” Halle said. “Everybody and their families are going to pull together and get through this. It’s a tragedy. Nobody wants this to happen.”

The names of the rest of the murder victims will be publicized at 3 pm.

Aside from those murdered, another 6 people were wounded in the massacre. Two of the victims, a 70 year old man and a 40 year old policeman, were seriously wounded. The condition of three others - a 61 year old woman, 55 year old man, and 27 year old policeman, are stable. Another policeman was lightly wounded and has already been released from the hospital.