i24News reports:
The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested a suspect who is believed to be responsible for shooting two Jewish men outside shuls in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood on Wednesday and Thursday.
The man has a history of animus toward the Jewish community, law enforcement sources told The LA Times.
In a statement late Thursday, the LAPD said that “the facts of the case led to the crime being investigated as a hate crime.”
The men described seeing a male shooting suspect, said Police Lt. Park, a spokesperson for the LAPD who declined to give his first name.
Authorities tracked the suspect to an area in Riverside County, and investigators began working with federal and regional partners to find him, according to the LAPD. He was taken into custody around 5:45 p.m. Thursday.
A Jewish man was shot in Los Angeles on Thursday, a day after another Jewish victim was also shot in the California city.
Thursday’s victim was attacked while leaving a synagogue. The city’s Hatzalah – a Jewish volunteer medical organization – arrived at the scene shortly after along with police and city emergency services. He was reportedly shot in his arm and was in stable condition.
The day prior, another Jewish man was shot while also leaving a Jewish place of prayer, in an area densely populated with ultra-Orthodox Jews. He was also shot in the arm and was in stable condition.
The Los Angeles Police Department described the incidents as “eerily similar.” Both crimes were apparently perpetrated by a man in old-model vehicles, identified Wednesday as an Asian male and Thursday as a white male.
Police were scouring the areas of both shooting sites trying to obtain surveillance video, and while they have not deemed the crimes to be antisemitic in nature, there was speculation that they were acts of prejudice. It should be noted that the scene of Wednesday’s shooting was in a neighborhood that has seen multiple instances of antisemitic violence in the past.
“It’s sickening that Los Angeles is dealing with this,” read a statement by Megan Am, a Jewish security service. “We want the city to take a strong stand… to guard the synagogues. Right now, Megan Am is on high alert.”
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpsPhkaqGdk
Relying on the police to solve the increasing violence is an inadequate response. People need to realize that the violence is increasing because of the laissez-faire attitude government has taken towards criminal activity including their own. People need to arm themselves so that they can stop the criminals.