A Jewish man has died after sustaining a head injury after an altercation with pro-Palestine protesters in California, officials said.
Paul Kessler, 69, was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital amid reports of a fight at the event in Westlake Village on Monday. Cops have ruled his death as a homicide and have not discounted that it may have been a possible hate crime.
Distressing video circulating on social media shows Mr Kessler lying on a sidewalk as two concerned witnesses try to help.
The exact cause of his death has yet to be confirmed though the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has claimed the victim was “struck in the head by a megaphone” and says it “will not tolerate violence against our community”.
He is understood to have been “counter-protesting”.
Investigators at Ventura County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) said Mr Kessler hit his head on the ground. Police say they have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.
The department said: “Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with counter-protester(s). During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground.”
Daily Express US has contacted the VCSO for further information.
A photo taken moments earlier shows Mr Kessler wearing a white cap and waving an Israeli flag on the same sidewalk.
Fire officials told KTLA they were called to reports of a “fight in progress” and an older man “down” at around 3.15pm PST.
Rabbi Michael Barclay, of nearby Temple Ner Simcha in Thousand Oaks, has urged caution with the investigation underway.
He wrote on Twitter: “Please do NOT post misinformation about the horrible death of an elderly Jew yesterday here in Westlake, where I am the local Rabbi. I have had long conversations with the Chief of Police and they are investigating the different accounts of what happened and reviewing video.
“It is not clear yet exactly what happened other than an elderly Jew was counter protesting at a Gazan demonstration, hit the ground, and died. We DO NOT KNOW at this time if he fell, was pushed, or was attacked. Please do not spread rumors. We will know soon what happened.”
In a later post, he added: “As the Rabbi in Westlake, I just got off the phone with the Chief of Police.
“As of 5.42pm (PST), this is the situation: they have conflicting reports of what happened, and they did interview the suspect that is identified in social media at the event. They have no video.”
Thousand Oaks is a city with a population of around 125,000 located northwest of Los Angeles.
