Man Who Shot 2 Outside LA Synagogues Gets 35 Years

UPDATE Sep 30, 2024 3:03 PM CDT

A man who shot two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison. Jaime Tran pleaded guilty in June to two counts of hate crimes with the intent to kill and two counts of using a firearm in a violent crime, KTLA reports. In a news release, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the 30-year-old attempted to murder Jews "after years of spewing antisemitic vitriol." "Vile acts of antisemitic hatred endanger the safety of individuals and entire communities, and allowing such crimes to go unchecked endangers the foundation of our democracy itself," Garland said.

Feb 17, 2023 1:23 PM CST

A man who was apparently targeting the Jewish community in Los Angeles is now in custody, police say. Law enforcement sources say the man, who allegedly shot two men outside synagogues this week, has a history of animus against the Jewish community and the shootings are being investigated as hate crimes, the Los Angeles Times reports. Both victims, Orthodox Jewish men who were shot after leaving synagogues in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, survived, KTLA reports. One man was shot in the back Wednesday morning and the second was shot in the arm Thursday around two blocks away from the first shooting. The suspect was described as an Asian man with a mustache and goatee.

Police said both victims were shot from moving cars, Fox 11 reports. "For the last two days, the community has been on edge and continues to be on edge, even with the arrest of a suspect," Ariella Loewenstein, deputy regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles, said after the suspect was taken into custody in Riverside County. "Anytime that a community is targeted because of who they are—and in this case who they worship and being Jewish—it's always terrifying." Police and community groups have stepped up patrols around houses of worship. "I want to be very clear: anti-Semitism and hate crimes have no place in our city or our country," Mayor Karen Bass tweeted. "Those who engage in either will be caught and held fully accountable." (More Los Angeles stories.)