Victim in hate crime shootings recounts attack outside West LA synagogue

Guy Tieb's jacket is still stained with blood after he was shot during a drive-by outside his synagogue.

Tieb had just left his synagogue when he walked to the crosswalk at Bedford and Pickford Streets, making eye contact with a driver wearing a mask before gunshots rang out. 

"When I moved I heard boom, boom, boom," he recalled. "Three times."

A round struck Tieb's right arm, causing blood to pour down his bicep as he ran to a friend's home for help, with his kippa still on. 

Thursday night, police arrested the man accused of shooting Trieb and another man, 28-year-old Jaime Tran. He was charged with two counts of federal hate crimes and accused of attempted murder. 

"He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison," said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. 

In addition to the attack on Tieb, Tran is accused of shooting a second Jewish man in the back on Wednesday, about a block away.

The criminal complainant said Tran acknowledged having intentionally shot the two victims. He admitted he selected his victims because of their "headgear."

Between August and November 2022, Tran repeatedly texted a former classmate at a dental school antisemitic and threatening messages. 

"Antisemitism goes against the value of our city," said Mayor Karen Bass. "It goes against our humanity — all hate does."

Investigators said Tran was captured in Cathedral City after police tracked him there and got a call about a man with a gun in that area. 

They said security camera video and Tran's phone placed him at the shootings. Investigators said he's been living out of his car for at least a year and told them he got his gun from someone he didn't know in Arizona. 

Tieb said he and his family left France about 15 years ago because of antisemitism. Despite his injury, he returned to his synagogue for service Friday morning. 

"I think I need to thank many things," he said. "Thank God because it is very important."