Four arrested after California pro-Israeli rally turns violent
WESTWOOD, Calif.- No one was hurt on Sunday when a federal officer fired a shot while trying to break up a fight among protesters during a pro-Israel demonstration in Los Angeles, authorities said.
The demonstration, which drew several hundred people, was breaking up when pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian supporters began to clash at the Federal Building in Westwood.
Witnesses said the confrontation included men who drove past the protest in a truck displaying a Palestinian flag and hitting the pro-Israel demonstrators with sticks, CBS Los Angeles reported. Witnesses said the flag was ripped away, prompting the fight.
The shot was fired by an officer with the Federal Protective Service, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, according to a sheriff's statement.
The LAPD arrested four suspects on assault charges, and the shooting remains under investigation, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The rally followed a similar one Saturday in support of Palestinians.