A man was reportedly arrested in California after allegedly trying to run over two Jewish individuals on Friday night with his vehicle in what is now being investigated as a hate crime.
Mohammed Mohammed was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, according to CBSs Los Angeles affiliate.
Some people in a Hancock Park neighborhood said a driver targeted them because they are Jewish. Now police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Joy Benedict reports. pic.twitter.com/cu04OmMRQ9
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) November 26, 2018
Mohammed allegedly insulted two men as they were walking out of a synagogue in Hancock Park, NBC4 reported. He then allegedly tried running them over, and after missing them, turned around and tried again.
“We both scrambled in different directions so he slammed on his brakes and missed us thank God,” one of the victims said to CBS. “He clearly was going at us and it was even more clear on round two.”
“Why he chose us? Probably because of the yarmulkes on our heads,” the victim added.
A witness allegedly saw a Quran on Mohammeds dashboard, although he did not share any religious thoughts during the attack. (RELATED: With Hate Crimes Dropping Against Muslims, Whites Face More Than Hispanics)
The suspect was reportedly involved in a crash later on.
According to FBI data on hate crimes committed in 2017, Jewish people were the largest targets of all religious-based hate crimes at 58 percent, thus greater than all other such crimes combined. (RELATED: Trump Reacts To Devastating Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting)
Last month, a deranged man killed eleven Jewish people in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburghs Squirrel Hill neighborhood, a predominately Jewish area close to downtown Pittsburgh.
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