Some 1,000 persons attended the hastily-called funeral Friday of 24-year-old Rabbi Neil Rosenblum, killed by an unidentified assailant while visiting his wife’s parents in Pittsburgh for Passover.
Pittsburgh police chief John Norton met with Jewish community leaders over the weekend to discuss the murder and vowed to apprehend those responsible for the early Thursday evening shooting of Rosenblum, the father of a four-week-old daughter.
Norton said dozens of police personnel were working around the clock to “solve the senseless murder.” At the same time, Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Calijuri announced that the city is offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
Police apparently have few leads in the case, but reports indicate that Rosenblum, dressed in traditional Orthodox garb, was approached by a white man driving a dark colored automobile who stopped to ask for directions.
The assailant is said to have gotten out of the car and fired six bullets into the victim at close range. Rosenblum reportedly gave police some information before his death. There has been no information yet on the exact number of persons in the vehicle or possible motives for the attack.
Rosenblum was attending the graduate school of the Her Israel Yeshiva in Toronto and it was there that Friday’s funeral took place.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.