PITTSBURGH — Early in 2023, on the advice of a colleague, Eric Olshan taped a photo to the wall near his desk in the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The photo — a collage of the 11 people killed in the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting — stayed on his wall throughout the monthslong trial of the shooter that summer — through the jury selections, the guilty verdict and the gunman's death sentence. It remained taped there long after the evidence boxes were packed away and the case appealed to the Third Circuit Court — for more than a year-and-a-half after the trial concluded.

And it was still there last week as Olshan, who resigned his post as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania effective 11:59 p.m. Sunday ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, reflected on the case.

It’s a case he said has become inextricably linked to the U.S. Attorney's office and those who work there.

And that’s a privilege, he said.

“I think the fact that this event, this prosecution, will be associated with the office is a real honor for the people who work here,” Olshan said. “It reflects, we think, what the community should expect of the public servants who serve in our office — which is to follow the facts and the law and secure justice for the victims.”

Olshan, 43, began his career with the Department of Justice in 2007 and joined the Western District in 2017 as an assistant U.S. attorney. He was serving as chief of the economic, cyber and national security crimes section when former President Joe Biden tapped him to head the office in March 2023.

He was sworn in to the post June 8, 2023, in the midst of the synagogue shooting trial.

On Wednesday, when he spoke to the Post-Gazette about leaving the office and about the weight of that key case, Olshan kept his eye on the photo of those who lost their lives in the synagogue shooting.

“Every one of us understood, on some level, what we were taking on by being part of this prosecution,” he said. “And that's what it means to be in public service, honestly — it is to be willing to take on the weight of some of the most significant traumas that can occur in life and maintain the North Star of doing what's right and just trying to do your job.”

He said the survivors and family members of the victims embraced the prosecution team.

“We were so fortunate ... to get to know a community that was so gracious and gave us their trust and supported us, and they did not have to do that,” he said. “This is never a given in any case.”

Some survivors and loved ones of the victims said the prosecution team helped them get through the three-month trial.

“His empathy, dedication, honesty, humility, and patience in working with those directly affected by the tragedy were extraordinary,” said Andrea Wedner, who was injured in the shooting and whose mother was killed. “While I have never faced anything remotely similar to the trial, I was deeply impressed by the preparedness and professionalism of him and his legal team.”

She said that while his job was to represent the United States in the case against the shooter, Olshan and the rest of the prosecutors never lost sight of getting justice for the victims and their families.

He gave the keynote address at the five-year commemoration in honor of the 11 victims, speaking about each of them, recalling small things he learned about them throughout the years it took to take the case to trial.

He called it an honor and privilege to learn about who they were in life. “And that is something that we will carry with us always,” he said.

Last week, he and other investigators and prosecutors involved in the synagogue shooting case were honored with the Attorney General's David Margolis Award for Exceptional Service. It's the highest award given by the Department of Justice.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti will serve as acting U.S. attorney until the new administration nominates someone to the vacancy.

Olshan wouldn't speculate on whether he believes he's leaving the office in a better position than he found it; rather, he said, the work — and the team of people — speaks for itself.

“I think our office always does tremendous work ... and I think the people here are committed to doing what is right and following the facts and the law,” he said. “I'll miss being here, but I know that the work will continue, as it always does.”

He pointed to some of that work in his statement last week announcing his plans to resign ahead of Monday's inauguration. Among the cases that came through the office: prosecution of two former long-term care employees who abused patients in Beaver County; filing charges in a deadly bomb attack in 2019 in Clearfield County; and prosecuting a Penn Hills man who engaged in sextortion of several children.

“Serving alongside this team of career civil servants — prosecutors, civil litigators, and professional staff alike — has been the privilege of my career,” he said.

Olshan said he's not yet sure what exactly will come next for him, but as he left the U.S. Attorney's office, the photo of the 11 synagogue shooting victims went with him. He said he will take it wherever he goes from here on out.

“I can say without reservation, my time in public service will be the best experience of my career.”