A 29-year-old man, Jaime Tran, has pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes and firearm offenses for shooting two Jewish men in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles last year. The shootings occurred less than 24 hours apart, and Tran targeted the victims as they left shuls.

Tran admitted to espousing antisemitic beliefs and making violent threats toward Jewish people. He had a history of making hate-filled statements, including at dental school in 2018, where he was eventually forced to leave. His antisemitic rhetoric escalated from August to December 2022, and he used violent language, including death threats, against a former classmate, police said.

In November 2022, Tran sent an email to two dozen former classmates containing antisemitic propaganda, including a statement blaming the Covid-19 pandemic on a Jewish conspiracy.

Despite being prohibited from purchasing firearms due to previous mental-health holds, Tran acquired two firearms in January 2023 through a third party.

On February 15 and 16, 2023, Tran used the internet to research locations with a “kosher market” and planned to shoot someone near a kosher market because he believed there would be Jewish people in the area. He drove to Pico-Robertson and shot two Jewish victims, both wearing yarmulkes, as they left shul after davening Shacharis. Both victims survived the shootings.

Tran pleaded guilty to all charges against him, including two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. He is expected to receive a prison sentence of 35 to 40 years at his sentencing on August 5.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)