Homeland Security Officer Probed for Firing on Pro-Palestinian Protesters in Los Angeles
Four people have been arrested and a Homeland Security officer is under investigation for firing his weapon during a weekend scuffle between pro-Israel demonstrators and Palestinian supporters outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles.
The altercation Sunday evening grew out of a shouting match between the occupants of two vehicles that escalated when several people from one vehicle were assaulted by suspects in the other, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said.
An officer of the Federal Protective Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who witnessed the assault intervened and fired his weapon, but no one was hit by gunfire or otherwise injured, Sheriff’s Sergeant Carmen Arballo said.
She said four suspects were arrested. According to the City News Service, the four were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after some of those involved in the melee were seen brandishing wooden poles.
It was not clear whether the officer’s gun was fired deliberately or by accident. The sheriff’s office said the shooting was under investigation.
According to KNBC, the clash erupted when Palestinian supporters drove up in a truck and thrust a Palestinian flag out of the window.
Pro-Israel demonstrators grabbed the flag, threw to the ground and stomped on it, leading to a brawl when the Palestinian supporters got out of their truck and one was stomped and kicked as he bent down to retrieve the flag, KNBC reported.
The confrontation occurred at the end of a rally by an estimated 500 demonstrators in support of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel by Palestinian militants. A similar protest had been held at the same location on Saturday by Palestinian supporters condemning Israeli bombing of Gaza.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
