U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said the suspect charged with federal hate crimes, Jaime Tran, may be sentenced to life.
A man who is thought to have shot two people outside of synagogues in West Los Angeles this week has been charged with federal hate crimes, officials said at a news conference on Friday.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said that a federal hate crime complaint was filed against suspect Jaime Tran, 28, on Friday morning. The complaint charges him with two federal hate crimes.
“Hate crimes and antisemitism have no place in our community,” he said. “The complaint said that Tran targeted two victims because he hated them and thought they were Jewish or because he knew they were Jewish.”
Estrada said that if Tran is found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison because the complaint says he tried to kill the men he shot.
LAPD Headquarters. (Photo by: John Schreiber)
Police in Los Angeles say that two federal hate crime charges were filed against the same California suspect behind the two shootings in a Jewish neighborhood in the past 24 hours.
Tran was arrested on Thursday night in Cathedral City, which is east of Los Angeles. On Friday morning, she was taken into federal custody.
He was supposed to show up in federal court for the first time in Los Angeles on Friday.
Tran is accused of shooting both men from moving cars as they left synagogues in the mostly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood. The men were leaving synagogues at close range.
The shootings happened on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, just 24 hours apart. Both men are likely to make it.
Based on the preliminary inquiry, Tran discovered the area while looking for a kosher market on a business review app, the FBI Los Angeles office stated in a news statement distributed to Fox News Digital.
Estrada said that both of the people who were shot in the back and upper arm were wearing clothes that showed they were Jewish, like black coats and hats.
He also said that the police did a good job by arresting Tran “quickly and decisively.”
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, said that the two shootings caused “terror” that was “felt all over Los Angeles.” She said that antisemitism is getting worse in L.A. and across the country, and that fighting federal hate crimes “in all their forms” is one of her administration’s top priorities.
The Los Angeles Times said that Tran has a history of making antisemitic threats, such as texting a former classmate, “I want you dead, Jew.”
Friday’s news conference revealed federal hate crime charges against Jaime Tran by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. (Photo: Karen Bass/Twitter)
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Donald Alway, who is in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said, “Not only do these crimes involve violent attacks on innocent people, but they also spread fear in the community.” “Fear can’t be used to control communities or scare people of faith in Los Angeles or anywhere else in the United States. Law enforcement will work together to stop hate crimes, including acts of terror and violations of civil rights. On behalf of the FBI, I hope that the people who were attacked because of their faith will get better and that the Jewish community will find peace.”
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