Arson at Buddhist House Was Hate Crime, Report Says
The July 3 firebombing of a Northridge home where Buddhist services were held was a “hate crime” motivated by religious or racial prejudice, a report presented Monday to the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission concluded.
Pradit and Pachri Phongpharnich and their two children escaped unharmed after three firebombs were thrown at their house on Yolanda Avenue, authorities said. The roof was badly damaged. No suspects have been identified.
The staff report, requested by the commission, ruled out the possibility that the bombing was part of a neighborhood feud, said Eugene Mornell, the commission’s executive director. The neighbors generally were supportive, Mornell said.
He said the arson may have been related to the firebombing of a synagogue in Tujunga the same morning and the visit to Los Angeles of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader revered by Buddhists, in early July.
The Los Angeles Police Department has not concluded its investigation.
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