Jaime Tran’s booking photo via LAPD
A Vietnamese American has pleaded guilty to hate crimes and firearms offenses after shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left religious services in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles last year.
Jaime Tran, 29, of Riverside, California pleaded guilty on Monday to all charges against him—two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
“This defendant sought to murder two men simply because they were Jewish,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Hate and intolerance have no place in America. We will remain firm in our approach of using all the tools at our disposal to aggressively prosecute acts of hate.”
In his plea agreement, Tran admitted to holding antisemitic beliefs and making violent threats toward Jewish individuals. His troubling behavior began in 2018 when he left dental school after expressing hateful sentiments about fellow students he perceived to be Jewish.
In November 2022, Tran distributed antisemitic propaganda to former classmates, and the following month, he shared derogatory descriptions of Jewish people from a website.
In February 2023, Tran targeted people near a kosher market in the Los Angeles area, shooting a Jewish man leaving a synagogue. The next day, Tran attempted another attack, shooting a second Jewish man as he crossed the street. Both victims survived.
Tran’s sentencing is set for August 5, where he faces a prison term of 35 to 40 years.