Shooting at Los Angeles Synagogue

Two men were wounded this morning in a shooting at a Los Angeles area synagogue. The men were shot in the legs in the parking lot of the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Orthodox synagogue, located in the Valley Village section of Los Angeles.  They had arrived separately for the 6:30am services. Per the Los Angeles Police Department, is unclear if  this was a hate crime or what the motive for the shootings was, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, speaking to reporters at the scene said:

None of us should presume or speculate more about this other than it was a random act of violence.

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

Police have released a 17-year-old boy they had detained who matched the “very loose” description of the attacker, who was described as a black man wearing a hoodie, but he still remains a suspect. According to the Los Angeles Times:

Several law enforcement sources also said investigators are looking at whether the shootings were related to a business or personal dispute. The sources said detectives believe one of the victims was the target, and that a second victim may have been shot because he witnessed the attack.