Amid growing outrage over the death of a Jewish man following an altercation at a protest over the Israel-Hamas war, southern California police called for calm as they investigate the incident.
Paul Kessler, 69, died on Monday from a head injury sustained at pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, a suburb north-west of Los Angeles, authorities said. Witnesses reported that Kessler was in the middle of a confrontation with protesters when he fell and hit his head, authorities said.
The exact circumstances around the incident are not yet “crystal clear”, the Ventura county sheriff, Jim Fryhoff, said as witnesses have offered conflicting statements about what occurred before Kessler fell. The sheriff’s office has not ruled out a hate crime, he said.
No arrests have been made, but investigators have identified a suspect who stayed on scene and told deputies he called 911, Fryhoff said.
Posts circulated on social media included video of Kessler injured and lying on a sidewalk as people tend to him. The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles reported that Kessler was struck in the head with a megaphone by a pro-Palestinian protester before he fell, which the sheriff’s office has not yet confirmed.
An autopsy found Kessler died from a blunt force head injury and that his injuries were consistent with a fall, Dr Christopher Young, the Ventura county medical examiner, said at a news conference on Tuesday. He also had “non-lethal” injuries to the face, Young said.
The manner of death was homicide, Young said, but that does not reflect whether a crime occurred.
The incident unfolded on Sunday afternoon during protests at a Thousand Oaks intersection, where as many as 100 people had gathered for a pro-Palestinian demonstration and pro-Israel counter-protest. The event was advertised as a peaceful gathering, Fryhoff said, and was calm when a local police chief drove through minutes earlier.
By 3.20pm, multiple calls came in about a possible assault. Deputies arrived on scene minutes later and found Kessler bleeding from the head and mouth but conscious and responsive, Fryhoff said. He was transported to a nearby hospital and investigators interviewed witnesses on scene, including a suspect who stayed in the area and told investigators he was involved in a confrontation with Kessler and had called 911.
Witnesses provided conflicting statements about the altercation and who the aggressor was, the sheriff said.
Kessler died early on Monday morning.
The sheriff’s office issued a search warrant for the suspect’s home, but have not publicly identified the man. Authorities have asked any witnesses or anyone with photos or videos of the incident to provide them to investigators.
“We understand that the war in Israel and Gaza has led to an increase in hateful and threatening rhetoric and we want to assure the Muslim and Jewish communities that we stand with them both during this difficult time,” Fryhoff said.
The war in Israel and Palestine has sparked protests across the US, and fueled concerns about antisemitism and Islamophobia. The sheriff’s office asked that people refrain from sharing rumors and misinformation to avoid causing unnecessary panic in the community.
Rabbi Michael Barclay of Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village, near Thousand Oaks, urged people to avoid jumping to conclusions about what happened.
“I just got off the phone with the Chief of Police,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “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.”
He said police are being cautious before making accusations. “We need to do the same; and not let this become a spark that starts an inferno,” he wrote.
The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement calling Kessler’s death a “tragic and shocking loss”.
“While we strongly support the right of political debate, CAIR-LA and the Muslim community stand with the Jewish community in rejecting any and all violence, antisemitism, Islamophobia, or incitement of hatred,” the statement said.
