Accused Bomber of California Chabad House Dies in Federal Custody
A homeless man accused of setting off a bomb outside a Southern California Chabad House has died in federal custody.
Ron Hirsch, 62, who set off the bomb in April 2011 at the Santa Monica Chabad House, died last month at a federal medical center in North Carolina, the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles reported.
He died of ischemic heart disease, according to reports, and also had mental health problems that had caused several postponements of his trial.
The bomb attack did not cause any injuries or deaths, but did damage the Chabad House and a home next door. The explosion launched a 300-pound metal pipe encased in concrete, which smashed through the roof of a home next door to the Chabad House. It was initially classified by police as an industrial accident. Items found near the site were linked to Hirsch, who fled across country by Greyhound bus.
Hirsch was arrested four days later in a suburban Cleveland synagogue and Jewish center by the FBI and local police shortly after evening prayers as he sat studying from a Jewish text. A local rabbi had recognized his photo from a Jewish website.
He faced up to 70 years in prison; Federal prosecutors have filed an order to dismiss the indictment against Hirsch due to his death.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward A Jewish nonprofit may have accidentally caused Michigan to drop charges against pro-Palestinian activists
-
Fast Forward Zohran Mamdani gets photo-ops — and attacks — after meeting with Orthodox voters
-
Fast Forward Israel adopts plan to conquer and occupy Gaza, in a shift for war’s goals
-
Fast Forward Netanyahu disputes report that Mike Waltz was fired for coordinating with him on Iran
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 3
Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
- 4
Music After decades of waiting, we’re finally getting a Bob Dylan-Barbra Streisand duet
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward A Jewish nonprofit may have accidentally caused Michigan to drop charges against pro-Palestinian activists
-
Culture For Christian nationalists, Trump’s pope picture isn’t a joke
-
Opinion Is Israel really going to reoccupy Gaza? Ask Trump
-
Yiddish World A photo of my bubbe when Jewish stores still had Yiddish signs
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.