Los Angeles police over the weekend arrested a man who was allegedly caught on video repeatedly trying to run over two men near a synagogue.
Authorities are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Video from a security camera shows the driver apparently trying to hit two men dressed in clothing typically worn by Orthodox Jews on Shabbat. The driver…reversed and tried to hit them again, according to the local outlet.
The man reportedly insulted a group of Jewish people leaving the synagogue before he got into his vehicle and attempted to run them over, the Los Angeles Police Department told the local NBC affiliate.
The suspect’s car crashed into another vehicle. No one was injured during the incident, according to NBC Los Angeles.
…“Why he chose us? Probably because of the yarmulkes on our heads,” one of the people targeted, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBS Los Angeles.
There has been an increase in anti-Semitic hate incidents in recent years, with an almost 37 percent spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2017, according to the FBI in a recent report.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said earlier this month that he is “particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes — which were already the most common religious hate crimes in the United States.”…
Last month, a mass shooter committed the deadliest attack against Jewish people in U.S. history, killing 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
(h/t @startorrent02 )
Video shows driver trying to run over Jews near Los Angeles synagogue
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