A former dental student who shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year was sentenced on Monday to 35 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.
The man, Jaime Tran, 30, formerly of Riverside, Calif, pleaded guilty on June 3 to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of “using, carrying and discharging a firearm” during a crime of violence, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Monday.
“No Jewish person in America should have to fear that any sign of their identity will make them the victim of a hate crime,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the statement.
The shootings, which took place one day apart in February 2023, stirred fears in the city’s Jewish community after the authorities said the victims had been targeted because of the clothing they wore, including black coats and head coverings which were associated with their faith.
The police and federal authorities in Los Angeles said that Mr. Tran had shot the two men at close range as they left synagogues in Pico-Robertson, a neighborhood with a large Jewish population and home to many synagogues and the Museum of Tolerance, which is operated by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization.
The first shooting took place about 9:55 a.m. on Feb. 15, 2023, and the second shooting was the following day around 8:30 a.m. The victims, each of whom was wearing a yarmulke, survived. Their names — and those of the synagogues — were not included in court documents.
In a recorded interview, Mr. Tran told federal investigators that he had intentionally shot both men and that he had chosen the location by searching online for kosher markets in Los Angeles, according to court records.
He also said that he had identified the men he shot as Jewish because of their dress and “head gear.”
The day after the second shooting, the authorities arrested Mr. Tran in Cathedral City, Calif., which is about 125 miles east away from the shooting sites, after a witness had reported seeing someone shooting a firearm behind a motel, prosecutors said.
When he was arrested, Mr. Tran told officers that he was “practicing” with his assault weapon, according to the Department of Justice statement.
Kate Corrigan, a lawyer for Mr. Tran, said in a phone interview on Monday that Mr. Tran was a student at the U.C.L.A. School of Dentistry and had taken a break from his studies before the shootings.
“The mental illness had started taking over his life,’’ she said. “He sought treatment, and like many people, the mental illness got the better of him.”
She added, “He is thankful that no one died.”
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