JustASC

L.A. Times has second-day coverage of the shooting of two men at a North Hollywood synagogue, and after initial talk of a hate crime the authorities are treating it as a random act of violence:

By day’s end, authorities had come to believe that the shooting, in which two men were wounded, was probably a far more mundane crime.

“There is absolutely no evidence to support any connection to terrorism or a hate crime,” said Mike Downing, deputy chief of the LAPD’s Counter Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau….

Several law enforcement sources told The Times that investigators were looking at whether the shooting was related to a business or personal dispute. The sources said detectives believe that one of the victims was the target and that the second victim may have been shot because he witnessed the attack.

The ADL is being cautious however, saying it

issued a security bulletin to all Jewish institutions in its Pacific Southwest Region (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern and Riverside Counties) explaining that the situation is still unfolding, but we have no reason to believe that it is part of any larger plot or conspiracy.

Although early reports described the shooter as being black, police later said detectives were not certain of the suspect’s race.