Police: Two men shot at California synagogue

A man wearing a hooded sweatshirt shot two men at a North Hollywood synagogue Thursday morning, wounding them in their legs, police said.

The two men, who have not been identified, are in stable condition at separate hospitals, said Deputy Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department.

He said police have put extra patrols near local schools and other synagogues as a precaution.

Authorities have taken a person into custody whose clothing matches "a loose description" of what the suspect was wearing, Moore told reporters, but he emphasized that a search for a suspect would continue.

"We are looking into every possible motive," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa told reporters. "But at this point, all we know is that it was a random act of violence."

The shooting occurred around 6:20 a.m. (9:20 a.m. ET) at Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue, police said.

Moore said the two victims arrived at the synagogue's parking garage in separate vehicles. As they were parking, he said, a man in a black sweatshirt approached, pulled out a handgun and fired on the first victim.
Video: Two shot at synagogue

The shooter then fired on the second victim and fled, Moore said.

"We don't know whether this was a robbery or whether it was an attack on these two individuals because of their presence at this synagogue," Moore said.

He said he believed the two victims were arriving at the synagogue for morning prayers.

Authorities are also reviewing security video from the synagogue, he said.