LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – An attack on Jewish diners outside a Los Angeles restaurant by members of a pro-Palestinian caravan Tuesday night is being investigated by police as a possible hate crime.
The incident, which Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicolas Prange said was originally reported as a large group fight outside the Sushi Fumi restaurant in the city’s Beverly Grove neighborhood.
A witness to the incident said she was sitting with a group of friends when people in a caravan of vehicles displaying Palestinian flags drove by and began shouting at diners.
The witness said that at one point a group of men jumped out of their vehicles and asked some men if any of them were “Jews.” The fighting broke out when two men replied that they were, according to the witness.
Video shows punches and items being thrown between a large group of men on a sidewalk as customers looked on.
The restaurant staff then rushed patrons inside, locked the doors and called police.
The ordeal lasted about 15 minutes, according to the witness.
Police eventually arrived and restored order.
No one was transported from the scene, Prange said.
Video of the incident was sent to L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz.
“It’s absolutely outrageous. We’re not going to allow this in the city of Los Angeles,” Koretz said.
The councilman, who is Jewish himself, came to the scene and said he would push for the attack to be investigated.
“We’re not going to bring the conflict from the Middle East here and allow people to be attacked on our streets because of what they look like and what they appear ethnically,” Koretz said.
Investigators later determined there were five victims involved in the incident, which is being investigated as a hate crime, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Li said.
Three outstanding suspects are being sought, Li said.
Koretz asked that the LAPD to provide resources to ensure similar incidents don’t happen in the future.
Pro-Palestinian supporters have recently taken to the streets in West Los Angeles to protest the ongoing fight between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
There have been no reports of any local protests turning violent.