Mayor Karen Bass said she will conduct an emergency meeting at City Hall following Tuesday’s end of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot “regarding safety and security” in response to the attack on Jews in Boulder, Colorado, who were holding their weekly demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
“What happened in Boulder, Colorado today — an especially brutal targeting of elders — is an atrocious affront to the very fabric of our society and our beliefs here in Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement released Sunday night.
“This was the second terrorist attack against Jews in two weeks. I will be calling an emergency meeting at City Hall regarding safety and security here in Los Angeles immediately after Shavuot.”
The statement also said the Los Angeles Police Department “is conducting extra patrols at houses of worship and community centers throughout L.A.” and “antisemitism will not be tolerated in this city.”
Four women and four men between the ages of 52 and 88 were taken to Denver-area hospitals after being injured the attack, according to the Boulder Police Department.
Witnesses reported that the suspect used a makeshift flame thrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd. The suspect was also heard to yell “Free Palestine” during the attack, police said.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was taken into custody Sunday. The U.S. Justice Department charged Soliman on Monday with a federal hate crime. He is also facing state charges in Colorado for attempted murder.
Shavuot runs from sundown Sunday through sundown Tuesday, marking when Moses and the Israelites were given the Torah at Mount Sinai.