Man sentenced to 35 years in prison for shooting two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — A California man was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year, federal prosecutors said.

Jaime Tran, 30, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of hate crime with intent to kill and two counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

The February 2023 shootings had raised fears in the city’s Jewish community after Aitjproteos said the victims were targeted because they wore clothing that revealed their faith, including black cloaks and head coverings. Both men survived.

According to an FBI affidavit, Tran told law enforcement that he had searched online for a “kosher market” and decided to shoot someone nearby.

Tran had a “history of anti-Semitic and threatening behavior,” the affidavit said, citing a review of emails, text messages and unspecified reports.

“The targeted killing of people based solely on their religious and ethnic backgrounds brings back memories of the darkest chapters in human history,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “We hope that today’s sentence sends a strong signal to everyone in our community that we will not tolerate anti-Semitism and hatred of any kind.”

In 2022, the FBI affidavit says, Tran sent emails to former classmates containing offensive language about Jewish people and also threatened a Jewish former classmate by repeatedly sending messages such as “Someone is going to kill you, Jew” and “I want you dead, Jude.”

“As millions of Jewish Americans prepare for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Department of Justice reaffirms its commitment to aggressively combat, disrupt and prosecute criminal acts motivated by anti-Semitism or hatred of any kind,” the US said Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement. “No Jewish person in America should have to fear that any sign of their identity will make them the victim of a hate crime.”