A man suspected of two shootings outside West Los Angeles synagogues this week has been charged with hate crimes, officials said at a news conference Friday.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said a federal criminal complaint was filed at his office Friday morning against suspect Jaime Tran, 28, accusing him of two hate crimes.
“Hate crimes have no place in our community, anti-Semitism has no place in our community,” he said, adding: “The complaint alleged that Tran, motivated by hate, attacked two victims because they were Jewish or he believed they were. they were jewish ”
Tran faces life in prison if convicted because the complaint contains allegations that he attempted to kill the men he shot, Estrada said.
LOS ANGELES POLICE SAY SAME SUSPECT MAY BE INVOLVED IN TWO SHOOTINGS IN JEWISH QUARTER WITHIN 24 HOURS
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks at a news conference where officials announced federal hate crime charges against suspect Jaime Tran on Friday. (Karen Bass/Twitter)
Tran was arrested in Cathedral City, east of Los Angeles, Thursday night and transferred to federal custody Friday morning.
He was expected to make his first appearance in a Los Angeles federal court on Friday.
Tran is accused of shooting both men at point-blank range from moving cars as they left synagogues in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson.
The shootings occurred within a 24-hour period on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Both men are expected to survive.
The initial investigation indicates that Tran found the neighborhood after searching for a kosher market on a business review application, the FBI’s Los Angeles office said in a press release shared with Fox News Digital.
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Estrada said both victims, who were shot in the back and upper arm, were wearing clothing that identified their Jewish faith, “including black coats and head coverings.”
He also praised the “swift and decisive action” by law enforcement officers in arresting Tran.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the “terror” from the two shootings “was felt throughout Los Angeles.” She noted that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Los Angeles and across the country, saying that combating hate crimes “in all its forms” is a priority in her administration.
Tran has an alleged history of making anti-Semitic threats, including texting a former classmate, “I want you dead, Jew,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
“In addition to targeting innocent people with violent physical assaults, these crimes instill fear in the community,” Donald Alway, deputy director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “There is no place in Los Angeles, and indeed in the United States of America, for fear of controlling communities and intimidating people of faith. Law enforcement will work together to prevent hate crimes, whether it be rape of civil liberties or terrorist acts. On behalf of the FBI, I wish a full recovery for the victims who were senselessly attacked for their faith, as well as peace for the Jewish community.”
