Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., November 25, 2009 Kislev 8, 5770 | | Israel Time: 11:29 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
The Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue in Los Angeles.
 (Ch. 2)
Share |
Last update - 11:28 25/11/2009
LAPD puts Jewish institutions on alert after synagogue shooting
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
Tags: Jewish World 

The Los Angeles Police Department put Jewish institutions on alert on Thursday, after a gunman shot and wounded two men in the parking garage of a San Fernando Valley synagogue earlier in the day.

Two men in their 40s were shot in the legs near the Adat Yeshurun Valley
Sephardic Orthodox synagogue in North Hollywood, Deputy Police Chief Michel Moore said.
Advertisement
The men, both members of the synagogue, had arrived in separate cars for the morning service shortly before 6:30 A.M. when the gunman approached one and, without speaking, shot him and the other man, Moore said. The men were hospitalized in good condition.

But the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles said the gunman had had an argument with the men in the parking lot before shooting them.


View Larger Map

The Los Angeles based Jewish Journal said the two had been named as the victims as Maor Ben-Nissan, 37, and Allen Lasry.

Police later detained and handcuffed a man not far from the synagogue. The youth, believed to be about 17 years old, matched the very loose description of the attacker, who was described as a black man wearing a hoodie, Moore said.

Officers cordoned off the area and continued to search for a possible suspect, Moore said.

There were no security guards in the parking garage but investigators will look at the synagogue's security videos, he said.

There was no immediate word on a motive

"We have to assume, because it was a synagogue, it was a service [and] that there was no other apparent motive, we're looking at it as a hate crime," Lt. John Romero said.

The FBI also responded to the scene, and police alerted nearby Jewish schools and temples and put extra patrols in place. There are several synagogues in the area.

"We are being vigilant for any follow-ups that may occur," Moore said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, meanwhile, cautioned people not to overreact.

"Until they have concluded their investigation, none of us, none of us should presume or speculate more about this crime other than it was a random act of violence," Villaraigosa said.

LAPD First Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators were trying to determine whether a similar suspect might have been involved in robberies or other crimes in the area.

Shayan Yaghoubi, 13, was walking with his mother to the synagogue's adjoining school but wasn't allowed to cross the police line.

"The cops told us we can't go," he said. "I feel very bad because this is my favorite school ... I have a lot of friends over there. I hope everyone is OK. There's never been a problem with fighting."

The attack occurred 16 kilometers from Jewish community center where white supremacist Buford Furrow wounded three children, a teenager and an adult, in 1999. Furrow later killed a Filipino letter carrier on another street.

Furrow, who is serving a life sentence without chance of parole, told the Daily News of Los Angeles in a letter last month that he had renounced his racist views and regretted the pain he had caused.

In June, an elderly white supremacist shot and killed a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

Also, in 2002 an Egyptian shot six Israelis at Los Angeles International Airport, at the Israeli airline El Al's ticket counter, before he was shot and killed by an El Al security guard. Two of the victims died in the attack.


Related articles:
  • Death penalty possible in Holocaust museum shooting
  • Background / U.S. Holocaust museum attack gunman's history of anger
  • Poll: Anti-Semitic views in the U.S. at a historic low
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    New Mideast plan
    Ray Hanania, American-Palestinian, married to a Jew, running for PA presidency.
    Shalit on the table
    PA negotiation officials for Gilad Shalit deal arrive in Syria to discuss finalizing deal.
      1.   Hate Crimes and the people in here who will say something stupid 17:49  |  Big Sur 29/10/09
      2.   I guess that what they were arguing about will determine 18:23  |  Murray of Montreal 29/10/09
      3.   The US knows how to do it 18:40  |  Apa 29/10/09
      4.   hate crimes 18:46  |  stella westwell 29/10/09
      5.   What`s missing from the story? 18:51  |  Czarkazem13 29/10/09
      6.   RE: probed as a hate crime 19:05  |  tbart 29/10/09
      7.   "A direct result of the Goldstone Report." Likud MK. 19:10  |  Lou Medel 29/10/09
      8.   Goldstone report not anti-Semitic but 19:43  |  Darth Zaider (Ed) 29/10/09
      9.   "A direct result of the Goldstone Report." Likud MK? 19:51  |  Mark Lincoln 29/10/09
      10.   Hate crime, or not 19:51  |  The Arab American 29/10/09
      11.   shooting 2 jews on their way to prayers 20:05  |  mohamed 29/10/09
      12.   Not All Crime is Obvious 20:12  |  Mark of Lewiston 29/10/09
      13.   tbart it was listed as a hate crime 20:12  |  Big Sur 29/10/09
      14.   Ten to one the teen shooter never heard of the Goldstone Report 20:14  |  dumb danon 29/10/09
      15.   I call BS 20:15  |  Rick 29/10/09
      16.   Exploit Away!!!! 20:22  |  Don 29/10/09
      17.   The Worst Poem 20:26  |  Better Than big sur 29/10/09
      18.   Rick I hope you are right and it is BS 20:29  |  Big Sur 29/10/09
      19.   MK Danny Danon 20:37  |  David 29/10/09
      20.   Blame begins at home 20:55  |  Morris Valentine 29/10/09
      21.   Goldstone report has nothing to do with this story 21:03  |  Tony Silver 29/10/09
      22.   Likud MK Danny Danon 21:05  |  Chris Linthwaite 29/10/09
      23.   The atmosphere esttablished since January and the anti-Jewish 21:06  |  Fred 29/10/09
      24.   think morris 21:14  |  jeff 29/10/09
      25.   Did they forget where they were 21:20  |  Mr Benson 29/10/09
      26.   In Eurabia the charges would be dropped. 21:27  |  4:20 29/10/09
      27.   Morris Valentine 21:34  |  Ibrahim 29/10/09
      28.   I agree with # 11 21:34  |  Yosi 29/10/09
      29.   To no. 11: Thank you, Mohamed 21:37  |  Avrom 29/10/09
      30.   MK Danon and the Goldstone Report??!!! 21:41  |  Yaakov Sullivan 29/10/09
      31.   Goldstone as in a fake gem? 21:46  |  Yaakov Sullivan 29/10/09
      32.   How much does Israel try to do to get out of War Crimes charges 21:52  |  Marc Leb 29/10/09
      33.   Unite! 22:02  |  Hirz 29/10/09
      34.   Murdering Jews is not antisemitism but legit criticizm of Israel 22:08  |  Dan 29/10/09
      35.   Lou Medle, the answer to your question is YES 22:11  |  Aurevou 29/10/09
      36.   This is not hate crime; after all he hated only Jews 22:12  |  Goldy 29/10/09
      37.   To Mo... you are proof of what Western Civ can do... 22:16  |  ben 29/10/09
      38.   Likud MK Danny Danon 22:19  |  Axel 29/10/09
      39.   I think without facts it is too early to...... 22:22  |  Deborah 29/10/09
      40.   If anything its a direct result of castlead and 22:43  |  Pal 29/10/09
      41.   # 29 dan 22:43  |  Axel 29/10/09
      42.   # 21 4:20 22:45  |  Sam 29/10/09
      43.   #21 22:46  |  Pal 29/10/09
      44.   Shooting at L.A. Synagogue 21:59  |  Shira 31/10/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Protea Hills
    A Retirement Village in Nature Nestled in the Foothills of Jerusalem
    Date Local Jewish Singles
    Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    More Headlines
    09:46 Report: Internal Hamas row holding up Shalit deal
    10:57 Analysis / Will Israel free Barghouti for Shalit? What will it mean?
    09:32 Rights group: 69 cases of Palestinian olive trees destroyed, but no prosecutions
    08:25 With all eyes on Iran, who's watching Pakistan's nuclear arsenal?
    05:46 Lieberman demands cabinet take polygraph tests over leak to Haaretz
    07:13 Keeping the Golan won't protect Israel from Syria
    10:13 Israeli scientists: Solve erectile dysfunction with electric shock
    10:10 TV ROUND-UP: Sides edge toward Shalit swap, Barghouti release debated
    09:46 Yedidia Stern drops out of race for attorney general
    10:07 Ahmadinejad wins support for Iran nuclear plan in Latin America
    06:41 U.S. may allow Israeli upgrades to F-35 fighter jet
    06:35 German film helps Jewish athlete right historical wrong
    06:28 Former Shalit negotiator Amos Gilad expected to resign from Defense Ministry
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved