Synagogue bombing suspect is arrested in Ohio near another synagogue

A man suspected in the explosion last week next to a Santa Monica synagogue was arrested in Ohio late Monday after someone noticed him at another synagogue in Cleveland Heights.

Sources told the Los Angeles Times that Ron Hirsch, 60, was arrested near a Chabad House in the Ohio city. He is accused of setting off a large explosive device at the Santa Monica Chabad House on Thursday.

The FBI said Hirsch fled Los Angeles on a Greyhound bus after the explosion. He was believed headed to New York, where he has relatives. But authorities said Hirsch may have gotten off the bus elsewhere.

On Monday afternoon, the FBI released images from a surveillance camera at a Greyhound station in Denver, which showed Hirsch walking through the building and standing at a counter.

It was unclear whether he took a bus from Colorado to Ohio. Authorities stressed late Monday that the investigation was ongoing and that additional details would be released as they became available.

Hirsch is believed responsible for last week's blast that sent a 300-pound metal pipe encased in concrete crashing through the roof of a home next to the synagogue, on 17th Street near Broadway. No one was injured.

Authorities first said the blast was accidental but later determined that explosives had been used.

Law-enforcement sources told The Times that the explosive contained gunpowder and other materials linked to Hirsch. But authorities said they had not determined a motive.

Hirsch, also known as Israel Fisher, was described by authorities as a transient who frequented Jewish synagogues and community centers in search of charity. Among them was the Congregation Bais Yehuda on North La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.

The FBI; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Los Angeles Police Department; the L.A. County Sheriff's Department; and the Santa Monica police and fire departments were investigating the incident.

ABC News quoted a rabbi in Cleveland Heights as saying Hirsch was seen inside his synagouge.

"A fellow in our community spotted him in the shul on Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights," said Rabbi Sruly Wolf. "The rabbi who spotted him called the Cleveland Heights police, who immediately responded and called the FBI."

RELATED:

 Santa Monica synagogue suspect flees Los Angeles on bus 

FBI releases photos of Santa Monica synagogue bombing suspect

-- Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

Photos, from top: Bombing suspect Ron Hirsch. Credit: Santa Monica Police Department. A man believed to be Hirsch at the Denver Greyhound station. Credit: FBI

Comments

[Akiva Feinstein]

He was not seen outside of a Chabad House in Cleveland. It was the Torah LIFE Community Jewish Learning Center.

[b0bb-e]

If he's a transient, where did he get money for the bus?

[qwerty@aol.com]

they got the wrong man!!! this is GIMLI from The Lord of the Rings!!!

[Charles]

The guys last name is Hirsch and he's an anti-semetic Jew? It makes no sense. But then we all know who runs the media don't we?

[Regan DuCasse]

He is believed to be headed towards relatives who live out of Los Angeles. THEY could have wired him the money to travel. Or he could be someone who has a pension of some kind and can afford little more than the basics, but no where to live necessarily.

The fact remains that he could have killed someone, he's dangerous and he's got the mental wherewithal to run from his crime using public transportation effectively.
He's a distinctly ugly enough cuss to be easily identified and a good thing too. Off to jail with him and good riddance!

[erkin]

Isn't he Muslim? So not only Muslim have problems with Jews.

[jabobill]

If he is convicted keep him off the streets,at least he is safe now.

[David in LA]

What are you talking about erkin?