Armed security guard charged with assault in connection to LA synagogue shooting caught on camera

Edduin Zelayagrunfeld is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

ByJ. Gabriel Ware
February 15, 2019, 7:39 PM
The exterior of the Etz Jacob Congregation/Ohel Chana High School building, Feb. 15, 2019, in Los Angeles.
The exterior of the Etz Jacob Congregation/Ohel Chana High School building, Feb. 15, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

An armed security guard at a Los Angeles synagogue was arrested after allegedly shooting a person recording video of the building in the leg.

Edduin Zelayagrunfeld, 44, was arrested on a felony charge for assault with a deadly weapon with a firearm, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department. He worked at the Etz Jacob Congregation/Ohel Chana High School near the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Stanley Avenue.

When police arrived on the scene at around 12 p.m., they found an "individual suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg," according to the LAPD statement. The victim of the shooting was transferred to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.

The alleged victim was live-streaming the school and the ensuing incident on YouTube. The LAPD confirmed that Zelayagrunfeld is the security guard in the video and can be seen pointing the gun down as the cameraperson zooms in and out on the weapon.

"This guard just pulled a gun out on me, everybody," the person holding the camera says in the video.

Zelayagrunfeld can be heard saying, "Why are you recording us? Why are you recording me? Why are you recording this institution? You cannot answer?"

“He said he was going to shoot me dead if I moved," the cameraperson says shortly after.

A single shot is fired just over a minute later, and the cameraperson immediately retreats. They can be heard yelling that they had been shot in the leg, while Zelayagrunfeld tells them to "get away" and that it was a "warning shot" and they "are nothing."

Zelayagrunfeld was released from jail Friday on $50,000 bond. He's scheduled to appear in court on March 15.

The LAPD did not disclose the name of the victim.