By: Lillian Tweten, Daily Caller News Foundation
A man allegedly broke into a Jewish family’s Studio City home in California early in the morning on Wednesday and threatened to kill them because of their nationality, Fox11 Los Angeles reported.
The family locked themselves into a room in their home after the man allegedly crashed through their back door and began shouting death threats at them, according to Fox11. The suspect was allegedly armed with a kitchen knife at the time of his arrest, and repeatedly shouted “free Palestine” and “brown people matter” from the back of a police car, KTLA5, a local news network, reported.
The family did not report any injuries although they were shaken up by the home invasion, according to Fox11. The suspect, who was only wearing his underwear at the time of his arrest, was taken to a hospital shortly after he was put in police custody to determine if he was under the influence of drugs.
Antisemitic sentiment across the nation has been on the rise since Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Many pro-Hamas protests have occurred across the nation over the past few weeks, including a demonstration that was held inside the rotunda of the House of Representatives’ Cannon Office building and a sit-in held by protesters who chained themselves to Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s office building in San Francisco.
The LA Police Department (LAPD) assured Jewish communities in the city that the alleged attack appeared to be an isolated incident and said that an investigation into the hate crime is ongoing, according to Fox11. Antisemitic attacks in Los Angeles have increased nearly 37% since January, police records showed.
The LAPD did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.