A man who shot two Jewish men outside two synagogues in Los Angeles last year was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Monday, federal officials announced.
Jaime Tran, 30, pled guilty on June 3 to two counts of hate crimes with intent to murder, as well as two counts of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in connection with a violent crime, according to the Justice Department.
“After years of spewing antisemitic vitriol, the defendant planned and carried out a two-day attack attempting to murder Jews leaving a synagogue in Los Angeles,” stated US Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Vile acts of antisemitic hatred endanger the safety of individuals and entire communities, and allowing such crimes to go unchecked endangers the foundation of our democracy itself.”
Tran was accused of killing both men at close range from moving cars as they left synagogues in Los Angeles’ Pico-Robertson neighborhood, which is primarily Jewish.
He informed police that he sought a “kosher market” and planned to shoot someone nearby since he assumed there would be Jewish people in the vicinity.
On February 15, 2023, he shot a man wearing a yarmulke as he was exiting a synagogue before fleeing in his automobile. The next morning, he shot another Jewish victim, who was also wearing a yarmulke, as he was leaving a synagogue.
Tran was detained the following day when a witness reported seeing someone discharging a handgun behind a motel. Prosecutors say he informed detectives that if he hadn’t been detained, the shootings would have continued.
The incident sparked concern in the city’s Jewish population because authorities claimed the victims were targeted because of their religious garb.
At the time, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated that the “terror” of the two shootings was “felt all across Los Angeles.” She acknowledged that antisemitism is on the rise in Los Angeles and around the country, and stated that combatting hate crimes “in all forms” is a top priority for her administration.
In a statement, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles said it “appreciates today’s sentencing” of Tran and thanked law enforcement and prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Tran got consumed with his “antisemitic hatred” for years before the February 2023 attacks.
Tran dropped out of graduate school in 2018 after making anti-Semitic remarks about other students. From August 2022 until December 2022, he made antisemitic statements to former classmates, including “I want you dead, Jew,” and “Someone is going to kill you, Jew.” Tran referred to himself as a “ticking time bomb” and ran social media sites under the name “k1llalljews.”
In November 2022, Tran emailed a poster to two dozen old classmates that read, “EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THE COVID AGENDA IS JEWISH.”
Tran was forbidden from purchasing firearms due to previous mental health holds, according to officials. In January 2023, Tran contacted someone in Phoenix to purchase two weapons for him.
Tran chose the weaponry he wanted and gave about $1,500 in cash to the third party who bought them.
Law authorities identified the suspect, who has since pled guilty to illegally selling Tran the firearm used in the shootings. Messages from his phone revealed that Tran had solicited several persons to buy firearms for him and offered to pay more if no background check was completed, according to authorities.
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