Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Man arrested following attack on Jewish child in Los Angeles

A man was taken into custody Wednesday after allegedly punching a 12-year-old Jewish boy in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles, which is home to many Jewish businesses.

Daniel Rankin, 50, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday on suspicion of alleged battery . The boy was not taken to a hospital, though an ambulance was on the scene, according to the LAPD.

Some merchants in the area identified the man as a vagrant familiar to many in the neighborhood, according to news reports.

“We are outraged over reports of a violent assault on a Jewish child while playing with his friends and thank @LAPD for investigating,” the Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles tweeted. “We have seen a significant rise in antisemitism in recent weeks and are working with community organizations and law enforcement to stop the hate.”

L.A.-based Jewish journalist Eve Barlow said on Twitter that a friend of hers was near the scene of the attack. “A man punched a visibly Jewish child in the face while he was playing on scooters with his friends,” Barlow tweeted. “A friend of mine confronted him before he was arrested and another man came to the guy’s defense and said he wanted to kill the boy’s entire Jewish family.”

The American Jewish Committee Los Angeles also condemned the alleged attack, with Regional Director Richard S. Hirschhaut calling it shocking and deeply disturbing.

“We hope this innocent child did not sustain any lasting injury. Melrose Avenue has increasingly become a gathering spot for vagrants, many in need of mental health services. But hate is hate and the virus of antisemitism knows no boundaries,” Hirschhaut said. “Riding scooters with friends while being visibly Jewish should never invite such an outrageous attack.”

“We applaud LAPD for its swift arrest of the perpetrator and await further information on this case. In the meantime, it is imperative that Angelenos of all backgrounds make their voices heard in condemning the epidemic of antisemitism,” he said.

Tuesday’s incident is the latest in a string of incidents against Jews in California including an attack on a group of diners at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, the vandalization of a kosher restaurant in Sherman Oaks and the chasing of an Orthodox man by people in a caravan of cars.

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 credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link 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.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.