Police arrested a man over the weekend that is allegedly accused of trying to run over two people because of their religion. It happened last Saturday. The two victims, both of whom are Jewish, said that 32-year-old Mohammed Mohammed tried to run them over. The incident is being investigated for a possible hate crime charge (via The Hill):
The man reportedly insulted a group of Jewish people leaving the synagogue before he got into his vehicle and attempted to run them over, the Los Angeles Police Department told the local NBC affiliate.
The suspect's car crashed into another vehicle. No one was injured during the incident, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Mohammed, who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with a vehicle, is reportedly being held on $55,000 bail.
“Why he chose us? Probably because of the yarmulkes on our heads,” one of the people targeted, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBS Los Angeles.
There has been an increase in anti-Semitic hate incidents in recent years, with an almost 37 percent spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2017, according to the FBI in a recent report.
CBS Los Angeles has the footage of the incident: