Suspect in shooting of 2 Jewish men in LA faces hate crimes

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man who allegedly shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles this week was charged Friday with federal hate crimes.

Jaime Tran, 28, allegedly carried out the attacks on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at a news conference.

“For the past two days, our community has experienced two horrific acts," Estrada said. "An individual motivated by antisemitism, hatred for people in the Jewish community, committed two tremendously horrible acts targeting individuals because of their Jewish faith.”

Both victims wore clothing that identified their faith, including black coats and head coverings, Estrada said. Tran, arrested Thursday evening, told law enforcement that he looked online for a “kosher market” and decided to shoot someone nearby, according at an affidavit filed by the FBI. He also admitted to shooting someone the previous day, the affidavit said.