LOS ANGELES — In a school gymnasium painted yellow and black to symbolize the star that Jewish people were forced to wear in Nazi Germany, Mayor Karen Bass addressed a crowd of 400 who had gathered for a town hall on antisemitic violence after the shootings of two Jewish men last week in Los Angeles.
“Our Jewish community was terrorized, and that terror was felt across Los Angeles,” Bass said. “I have heard people say that they were afraid to walk in the neighborhood to worship this past Sabbath. I’ve also heard people, including one of the victims, say that nothing would keep them away from services. The fact is, no one should have to face that choice.”
The shootings occurred Wednesday and Thursday morning, as the men were leaving prayer services. Both survived their wounds, and a suspect, Jaime Tran, who has a history of making antisemitic statements, was taken into custody Thursday. Tran, 28, was charged the following day with federal hate crimes. If convicted, he faces life without parole in federal prison, prosecutors said.
