A Los Angeles man was charged with a federal hate crime over the shooting of two Jewish men in the city.
Jaime Tram, 28, is accused of shooting the two men in two separate instances on Wednesday and Thursday. The men were coming out of a synagogue, ABC News reported.
Martin Estrada, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a Friday press briefing that both men were shot “at close range.” Both victims survived and are said to be in stable condition.
“The complaint alleges that Tran, motivated by hate, targeted the two victims because they were Jewish, or he believes them to be Jewish,” Estrada said. He added that the victims were both wearing clothing that identified them as Jewish.
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The complaint said Tram went looking for Jewish locales where he could carry out an attack on Yelp. He had previously espoused antisemitic views in dozens of emails to former classmates and blamed lost revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown on the “Iranian Jew.”
In late 2022, he texted a Jewish former classmate, “Someone is going to kill you, Jew,” and, “I want you dead, Jew,” the New York Post reported.
The Los Angeles Police Department placed increased security at synagogues in response to the shooting, but the attacks are believed to be isolated incidents.
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“This week, the Pico-Robertson community where I grew up was terrorized. Our Jewish community was terrorized. And that terror was felt all across Los Angeles. One shooting, then a second, and perhaps even scarier, not knowing what would happen next,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) said Friday.
“Today, we can rest, hopefully, a little bit easier. Still, antisemitism and terror are tragically on the rise across our city and across our nation,” she added.
