A 69-year-old Jewish man died Monday after falling and striking his head following a confrontation the previous day during competing pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said. Paul Kessler's death was being investigated as a homicide and authorities haven't ruled out the possibility of a hate crime, said a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. No arrests had been made, the AP reports. Kessler was injured shortly before 3:30pm Sunday during competing demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, a city of about 125,000 northwest of Los Angeles. Police received reports that a battery had occurred and deputies sent to the scene found Kessler suffering from a head wound, the department said.
"Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with counter-protestor(s). During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground," the department said. An autopsy conducted Monday determined Kessler died from a blunt force head injury and it was homicide, the department said. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said Kessler was Jewish and that he was struck in the head by a megaphone held by a pro-Palestinian demonstrator. The sheriff's department didn't immediately confirm those details but planned a news conference Tuesday morning.
(More
Israel-Hamas war stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
