US federal prosecutors have charged Jaime Tran, 28, with hate crimes for allegedly shooting two Jewish men in California. According to the US Attorney Martin Estrada, both victims were wearing clothing that identified their faith, including black coats and head coverings.
Tran told law enforcement that he had looked online for a “kosher market” and decided to shoot someone nearby, according to an affidavit filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He also admitted to shooting someone the previous day.
The affidavit also stated that Tran had a “history of anti-Semitic and threatening conduct”, citing a review of emails, text messages and unspecified reports. In 2022, he emailed former classmates using insulting language about Jewish people and threatened a Jewish former classmate.
Tran was arrested about 161 km (100 miles) east of Los Angeles in the Riverside County community of Cathedral City near Palm Springs. An officer who responded to assist saw and photographed a man driving a dark grey Honda Civic. The image captured the licence plate, which was registered to Tran, whose driver’s licence photo was consistent with witness descriptions of the attacker, the affidavit said.
At about 5:45pm (1:45 GMT), Cathedral City police responded to a call from someone who heard the sound of a gunshot and saw a man with a gun near a Honda Civic. Officers found Tran standing next to the car and they could see an “AK-style rifle” and a .380-caliber handgun in plain view on the driver’s seat, the affidavit said. The officers also found a spent shell casing.
The US attorney said Tran had been a resident of the city of Riverside. In the FBI interview, Tran said he was homeless and had been living out of the car for 12 to 14 months, and that he obtained the firearms from someone he did not know in Arizona, the affidavit said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said fighting hate crimes was a priority of her administration’s public safety agenda. “We can rest hopefully a little bit easier,” she said during Friday’s news conference. “Still, anti-Semitism and terror are tragically on the rise across our city and across our nation.”
US federal prosecutors have charged Jaime Tran with hate crimes for allegedly shooting two Jewish men in California. According to US Attorney Martin Estrada, both victims were wearing clothing that identified their faith, including black coats and head coverings. Tran admitted to law enforcement that he had looked online for a “kosher market” and decided to shoot someone nearby.
The affidavit also revealed that Tran had a “history of anti-Semitic and threatening conduct”, citing emails, text messages and unspecified reports. In 2022, he emailed former classmates using insulting language about Jewish people and threatened a Jewish former classmate.
Tran was arrested in Cathedral City near Palm Springs after an officer spotted him driving a dark grey Honda Civic with a licence plate registered to him. At 5:45pm (1:45 GMT), Cathedral City police responded to a call from someone who heard the sound of a gunshot and saw a man with a gun near a Honda Civic. Officers found Tran standing next to the car with an “AK-style rifle” and a .380-caliber handgun in plain view on the driver’s seat, along with a spent shell casing.
The US attorney said Tran had been a resident of the city of Riverside. In the FBI interview, Tran said he was homeless and had been living out of the car for 12 to 14 months, and that he obtained the firearms from someone he did not know in Arizona.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said fighting hate crimes was a priority of her administration’s public safety agenda. “We can rest hopefully a little bit easier,” she said during Friday’s news conference. “Still, anti-Semitism and terror are tragically on the rise across our city and across our nation.” The mayor urged everyone to take action against hate crimes and stand up for those who are targeted because of their faith or identity.