A chaotic scene unfolded in Los Angeles on Sunday after a man drove a U-Haul truck into a crowd protesting against the Iranian government, police say.
The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. local time near the federal building in the Westwood neighborhood of the city, ABC7 reports.
Footage from the incident shows protesters trying to pull the suspect out of his vehicle after the collision, according to The LA Times. The protesters continued to lash out at the suspect as police escorted him away.
A sign reading “No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don’t Repeat 1953. No Mullah” was then ripped off the truck, the outlet reports.
Police told the Associated Press that one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
Two others were evaluated by paramedics and both declined treatment, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
The driver of the truck, who has not been named, was injured after the collision and has been “detained pending further investigation,” L.A. Police Capt. Richard Gabaldon said at a press conference Sunday.
In a statement posted to X, First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli stated the Department of Justice was aware of the incident and that the “FBI is on scene working with LAPD to determine the motive of the driver.”
Abraham Moe and his wife and daughter, Sanaz and Kiana told the Times that they saw the U-Haul in the crowd and “knew something was wrong when people started screaming.”
The protest “quickly became a scene of fear and confusion,” the outlet said.
Despite this, no other injuries were reported. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by 5 p.m. only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Activists say a crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has killed more than 530 people. Protesters flooded the streets in Iran's capital of Tehran and its second-largest city again Sunday.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
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