Los Angeles police have directed officers to step up patrols around synagogues, community centers and schools after the shooting of two Jewish men in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson in as many days.
The first shooting happened around 9:55 a.m. Wednesday on the 1400 block of Shenandoah Street and involved a man in his 40s, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The second incident happened Thursday around 8:30 a.m. on the 1600 block of S. Bedford Street and involved a man in his 70s. Both had just left a synagogue.
The LAPD said Thursday that both shootings may have been perpetrated by the same suspect, described as a man with a moustache and goatee who was possibly driving a white compact car.
A statement posted Thursday to the Anti Defamation League’s twitter feed by Regional Director Jeffrey I. Abrams stated that, “For the second time in as many days, a member of the Jewish community was assaulted with a deadly weapon leaving a house of worship in the Pico-Robertson area,” and that “At this time, it is unclear if the two incidents are related.”
He said the LAPD is investigation the incidents and continues to work with the ADL. “We will Continue to share information as we learn more. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Abrams said.
A day earlier, Abrams gave more detail about the first shooting saying that a man was “shot leaving a prayer service,” also in the heavily Jewish area of Pico-Robertson neighborhood of West Los Angeles, and that the victim is in stable condition.
Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that her office was monitoring the situation and that, “These attacks on members of our Jewish community are unacceptable.”
Local Jewish leaders say they are working closely with police but want the community to remain positive.
“Whatever the motivation and the circumstance, there’s reason to be concerned. But the answer cannot be, therefore avoid your local synagogue or your local temple,” rabbi Anderson Cooper said.
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