LAPD Turns North Hollywood Upside Down After Synagogue Shooting
If only every shooting in Los Angeles got this kind of response.
On Thursday morning, at just after six o’clock, a lone gunman shot and wounded two men in the underground parking area of the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue, in the North Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Given the setting and the scant details immediately available, it is unsurprising that the Los Angeles Police Department responded on the assumption that the crime may have been an act of terrorism. Los Angeles has a large Jewish population, and a visitor to any synagogue or other Jewish facility in the city is bound to notice the signs of vigilance against the threat that ever lurks outside its doors.
Yesterday, Phyllis Chessler chronicled only a sampling of the world’s more infamous anti-Semitic attacks of the last several years, but she neglected to mention an incident that occurred ten years ago just a few miles from the scene of Thursday’s shooting. On August 10, 1999, white supremacist Buford Furrow opened fire at the North Valley Jewish Community Center’s child care facility, wounding four children and an adult. (And could you invent a better name for a white supremacist than Buford Furrow?) He then shot and killed a Filipino-American letter carrier in a nearby neighborhood before fleeing to Las Vegas where he surrendered to the FBI. He escaped execution by pleading guilty to all the charges against him and accepting a life sentence.
Some of the LAPD officers who responded to Thursday’s shooting were there ten years ago as well, and for them there must have been something of a here-we-go-again feeling to it all. It soon turned into a full-blown media circus, with politicians and LAPD brass parading before the cameras and hundreds of police officers brought in from all over town for purposes never made entirely clear. But as I watched the incident unfold on television and listened to the radio traffic from the scene, it soon became apparent that what had occurred was not a terrorist act but rather an example of the kind of violence that, in other circumstances and in other parts of the city, would have been easily ignored by the politicians, the brass, and the press. The Los Angeles Times reported that detectives believe one of the victims may have been specifically targeted over a business or personal dispute, and that the second victim was shot merely because he happened onto the scene. Even as crime continues to fall all over Los Angeles, shootings such as this one remain sadly common.
Nevertheless, the neighborhood where the shooting occurred was turned upside down for hours on Thursday while the entire LAPD remained on tactical alert. Deputy Chief Michael Moore told reporters that officers were maintaining what he described as a “loose perimeter” around the neighborhood and that officers were searching the area for a suspect. Moore knows, or should know, that having a “loose” perimeter is like having none at all, especially when, as was the case on Thursday, it’s set up long after the crime has occurred. To no one’s surprise, no suspect was found.
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“Jack Dunphy” is the pseudonym of an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. The opinions expressed are his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management.
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20 Comments
1. Bilgeman:Mr. Dunphy:
“(And could you invent a better name for a white supremacist than Buford Furrow?)”
Only if he was arrested by LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Moore.
(It’s as if the jokes are just writing themselves, isn’t it?)
At any rate, hope you catch the perp, whatver his reasons for it, his actions make his deposit in the Man Pound a priority.
Oct 30, 2009 - 10:19 am 2. BettyBlue:Actually, considering that there’s an elementary school on the synagogue property, I’m actually glad the LAPD is taking this incident seriously.
Thugs shooting guns off near kids—not good, whatever said thug’s motivation.
Oct 30, 2009 - 10:31 am 3. Nate:re #2
Shooting guns off at people who aren’t threatening anyone–not good, whatever the location.
Shooting guns off near kids, why not? How else will they learn? A gun locked up isn’t useful for home defense, and nobody is infallable in their routine. It’s better children know what not to do with it and to remove the temptation of mystery. Not small children of course, but I’d say if they’re old enough to play with toy guns they’re old enough to be taught to respect real guns.
Oct 30, 2009 - 10:59 am 4. David Thomson:This is not a typical shooting! It is a statiscally aberrant crime by any standard. The shooter was likely trying to kill his victims, and he did not particularly give damn about them. He could have just as readily shot a couple of other individuals. This is obviously some sort of hate crime—and the assailant remains dangerous until caught. A dragnet is therefore logically justified.
Oct 30, 2009 - 11:18 am 5. BettyBlue:Uh, Nate, I think you’d better go back and re-read my post. I wasn’t talking about teaching kids to fire guns, or parents owning guns and teaching kids how to use them.
And, no, I don’t think it’s wholesome, or educational, for kids to be caught in the middle of crossfire, or have shooters blasting people away around them.
Oct 30, 2009 - 11:41 am 6. Now and Then:Speaking of shootings. Just heard Glenn Beck shout, “Somebody shot at Lou Dobbs and his wife! This is how they work!” what he didn’t say is that Mrs. Dobbs was standing in the driveway with the Dobbs’ driver (insert “elitist” here) when they heard a pop. Later, it was found that a bullet had struck the house, though it didn’t penetrate the siding and fell to the ground. Dobbs lives in a semi-rural area where it is small game season.
Now I ask you, which is more likely, a hunter’s errant round fired from a great distance, or an assassination attempt on Mrs. Lou Dobbs? But that won’t stop Beck and the rest of the right wing lunatics from spreading this ridiculous story. Let’s see how Fox handles it, shall we?
Oct 30, 2009 - 12:12 pm 7. Anonymous:David Thomson
I think that deliberately shooting anyone qualifies as a hate crime. This does not seem to me “aberrant” or random. Six o’clock in the morning, in an underground parking area? Random “hate” shooters usually pick a time and place where there is a group – classroom, office, congregation – where they’ll kill somebody no matter which direction they fire. This sounds a lot more like a poorly executed hit job.
Oct 30, 2009 - 12:13 pm 8. maasanova:There is no such thing as a love crime. it is interesting that the writer pointed out if this shooting had had nothing to do with jewish interests that it would be a complete non-story.
Hmmm…what does that say about our society?
Oct 30, 2009 - 12:19 pm 9. urbanleftbehind:Well, maybe some of the guys hunting game thought that a female LaRaza type was trying to barge into the Dobbs house to do harm. (Dobb’s wife is Mexican, you know)
Oct 30, 2009 - 12:32 pm 10. Knotacommie:I might ask the author-any bets the perpetuator of this crime is a follower of ISLAM? AND by the way, since when anyone think the LARAZA lover Villaraigosa will do anything except obstruct the cops, except of course if the perpetuator is white. Then , of course, according to the pinko media, he must be a Rush Limbaugh listener or a secret admirer of Michelle Malkin. My daughter used to live in Long Beach, and left California after her next door apartment got shot up by Hispanic gangs trying to intimidate the neighberhood(MS13?). The Pc baloney is too much. There will someday be a backlash if it doesnt stop.
Oct 30, 2009 - 12:57 pm 11. Now and Then:9. urbanleftbehind:
“Dobb’s wife is Mexican, you know.”
Now what does that have to do with anything?
Oct 30, 2009 - 1:03 pm 12. urbanleftbehind:#10
If the perpetrator is a Black or Middle Easterner, then by god Villaraigosa should catch him ASAP, throw the book at him and say:
1) (Black perp) This is why I wrist-slap the Hispanic gangs. They’re doing us favors in South LA.
2) (Arab/South Asian perp) At least Surenos and MS-13 dont target you Joos!! Take that, Westsiders! Sheesh, thats probably his swing constituency.
#11
It doesnt, but if you had heard Dobbs talk about how he had been receiving death threats AND did not know he was married to who he is married to, you might jump to some conclusions (also, he does hire hispanic support staff on his estate, properly I-9ed of course).
Oct 30, 2009 - 1:18 pm 13. genghis:It is unfortunate that the victims were not armed themselves. In Israel, home of Jews that have learned the lessons of life, I suspect that the outcome would have been different. And before all of you liberal, leftwing Jews pile on, a word of advice; the question is not whether or not to arm yourself, the question is what is the most appropriate choice of caliber? Otherwise, last one into the oven please shut off the lights.
Oct 30, 2009 - 2:08 pm 14. bibio44:7. Anonymous: “David Thomson I think that deliberately shooting anyone qualifies as a hate crime.”
Not really. A hate crime is usually motiveless, except for the race/religion of the victim.
8. maasanova: “There is no such thing as a love crime.”
Of course there is. They far outnumber hate crimes. I think they’re commonly referred to as “crimes of passion.”
Oct 30, 2009 - 3:04 pm 15. David P:Are you claiming the ‘elevated level of gumption’ displayed by the LAPD in pursuit of an assailant who at 6:30am unloaded a semi automatic in the parking lot of a ’school’ & ’synagogue’ as students, parents, teachers & others arrived, wounding two, was disproportional because the crimes motive is “fairly routine?”
Dumphy, I’m not certain I understand your point other then the incident was exploited by a few posturing principals with political aspirations.
If your aim is to invalidate the sincerity of the ‘issue’ both yours & Chesler’s articles failed to mention the shooting of five people, and killing of two, an El Al ticket agent and a bystander, at LAX ‘just a few miles away’ 4th of July, 2002: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/04/la.airport.shooting/
Oct 30, 2009 - 4:47 pm 16. TW in OC:Sir,
How did Furrow escape execution, was it a Federal prosecution? I would like to think the special circumstances would allow for execution under Calif. law, but, sadly, my guess is he would likely die of old age.
Respectfully,
TW in OC
Oct 30, 2009 - 7:54 pm 17. Judy, NYC:yeah, you’re correct you dumb, ignorant slob. why bother. the whole thing is down the toilet anyway. and what a stench from there. and from you.
Oct 30, 2009 - 8:24 pm 18. Marc Malone:this is it for the roman empire, folks. even an inept, toothless, brainless president to help it sink faster. just chaos. with a citizenry like the zombie living dead movies.
don’t worry. we’ll arm ourselves. you won’t have to get up early in the a.m. btw, you’re doin’ a heck of a job.
Waste of time article. Not enough info. Too much speculation.
Lou Dobbs is a bit of a rightwing nutjob, which is why CNN keeps him around… to discredit the Right. I’ll give Dobba a pass on his story, however, because it is hard to remain objective when you get death threats AND the bullets start to fly. Tends to make one a bit paranoid, especially when one is so prone anyway.
For clarification, I’m pretty rightwing, just not a nutjob. I prefer a few more facts before I go off the deep end!
Oct 30, 2009 - 10:37 pm 19. NahnCee:Speaking of lack of police effort or resources, what ever happened to the pro-Obama/union demonstrator who bit off a piece of the Tea Party protestor a month or so ago? With pictures of the perp and tons of witnesses and everything and it just poof’d into absolute nothingness, it’s almost as if word from the top came down not to embarrass The One by finding and arresting his cannibalistic follower. So then the question becomes, who’s protecting the Biting Democrat: Bratton or Hizzoner the Mexican?
P.S. to Mr. Dunphy – you don’t suppose LAPD received any urgent phone calls from well-known Jews in DC who have initials RE, do you?
Oct 31, 2009 - 11:05 am 20. Bill Gannon:Great story, Jack. The politics of becoming a police chief. Gag me with a spoon. They don’t really understand what it is they seek, do they?
Nov 2, 2009 - 2:12 pm