FBI Reviews Synagogue Surveillance Video

Two people were shot Thursday morning at a synagogue in North Hollywood, but the mayor and police said there was no immediate evidence the gunfire was anything beyond "a random act of violence."

The FBI is reviewing surveillance video from a security camera. They will need to enhance and clarify the grainy images, said Detective Rich Wheeler of the LAPD.

Officer Cleon Joseph said the victims suffered bullet wounds to the legs. The victims, 38-year-old Mori Ben-Nissan and 53-year-old Allen Lasry, were hospitalized in "stable and good condition," according to the LAPD.

"It's very important that we allow the officers to conduct their investigation," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Until they have concluded their investigation, none of us should speculate that it was more than a random act of violence. At this point, all we know is that it was a random act of violence."

The Adat Yeshurun Synagogue is located at 12405 Sylvan St., just west of the 170 Freeway.

Deputy Chief Michel Moore said the victims arrived in the parking structure at about the same time in separate vehicles. He said the gunman did not say anything to the victims before he opened fire.

"Investigators believe that without warning, the gunman tried to shoot the man, and his weapon malfunctioned," said Richard French, an LAPD spokesman, in a statement.

"As he tried to get the weapon to work, a second victim heard and saw what was happening and approached the gunman," French said. "At that point, the suspect shot both of the victims."

The victims were identified as 38-eight-year-old Mori Ben-Nissan and 53-year-old Allen Lasry. Wheeler said possible motives are being considered, including that the gunman knew one of the men, and the other victim was shot after witnessing the confrontation.

The gunman then fled on foot. The victims were about to attend a 6:30 a.m. service.

"I came up the stairs from the parking lot, and I saw blood on the floor," a witness told KNX. "I saw two people were wounded. They were saying they were shot in the parking lot. They were both on the floor. Everyone was tending to them.

"I come here every morning. I'd never expect anything like this."

Officers took a 17-year-old boy into custody on a nearby street, but authorities later released the youth, said LAPD spokesman Bruce Borihanh.

Police went on citywide tactical alert after the shooting, which allows commanders to deploy a maximum number of officers and to hold personnel past the end of their shifts, said LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell.

The alert had been lifted by about noon, said LAPD Cmdr. Jorge Villegas. The FBI also responded to the neighborhood.

The LAPD has alerted other synagogues about the shooting, the Times reported. Police have also increased patrols at Jewish religious institutions, according to the Times.

"We have extra patrols on Jewish facilities around the Valley and around the city, and are working with leaders of the Jewish community to let them know what we know as best we can, and to ask for increased vigilance, however, not to overreact," McDonnell said. "This is an isolated incident at this point, based on the information we have."

Local Jewish leaders also urged vigilance.

"Part of our realities today, even in tough economic times, is that every house of worship and educational institution and community center needs to ... take control of their own security on the ground, take their basic do's and donts' about how to conduct themselves in order to ensure that we can continue to enjoy the unique freedoms of the United States of America, including and especially freedom of religion and faith," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.

Amanda Susskind, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, commended the LAPD for its response to the shooting and its commitment of resources to Jewish facilities.

"While we have not confirmed the motive behind this horrendous act, we obviously take a shooting at a synagogue very seriously and ask for the community to contact LAPD or ADL with any information," Susskind said. 

City Council President Eric Garcetti called the shooting "a horrific attack."

"When people come to worship in a synagogue or a mosque or a church, it's one of the most private holy moments you can have," Garcetti said. "To be met with violence is one of the most despicable acts, for whatever reason, and if this was targeted specifically for Jews, it is a significant setback for all Angelenos to live with that kind of fear."

The synagogue is about 10 miles from a Jewish community center where white supremacist Buford Furrow wounded three children, a teenager and an adult, in 1999. Furrow later killed a Filipino letter carrier on a nearby street. Furrow is serving a life sentence without chance of parole.

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