Police suspect hate crime in shooting at California home with Hanukkah decorations

Police in Redlands, California, on Sunday launched an investigation into a suspected hate crime after a Jewish family was targeted in an apparent drive-by shooting outside their home, which had been decorated for Hanukkah.

Police said the family had just returned home Friday evening when a vehicle drove past, and suspects yelled slurs at the family.

According to CBS, Rodgir Cohen said that a male and two female suspects drove by the house twice and shouted toward him and his son, Jon Paul.

“He was holding whatever it was toward me, but he chose to yell at me,” Jon Paul told the KTLA news outlet. “He said, ‘Free Palestine,’ and then he used the N-word. Looking back and realizing that what he had in his hand was likely a gun and that he was that close to me really shakes me up.”

Later, after the father and son drove away, the assailants were caught on film by the family’s surveillance system returning and firing more than 20 times near the house. In the footage, one of the suspects can be heard yelling, “Fuck the Jews.”

Heftsibah Cohen, Jon Paul’s mother, said she believed fireworks were going off that made the dogs bark.

Redlands, California:

A Jewish home decorated for Hanukkah was shot at more than 20 times.

Video shows a car driving past the home as gunshots are fired.

The suspects can then be heard shouting, “F the Jews.” pic.twitter.com/UFp6Eu4uEz

— Stella Escobedo (@StellaEscoTV) December 14, 2025

“It wasn’t until we pulled the surveillance video that we realized it wasn’t fireworks,” she told KTLA.

No injuries or property damage were reported, and officers did not find shell casings at the scene. Police said home surveillance video showed no muzzle flash, leading investigators to believe the weapon used was likely an airsoft handgun.

“As our friends in the Jewish community begin their celebration of Hanukkah, several tragic incidents have occurred across the globe, targeting people simply because of their faith,” police said, in a reference to a terror attack that killed at least 15 people at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. “Unfortunately, Redlands is not immune to these hateful acts, as a local family was targeted because of their festive home decorations celebrating Hanukkah.”

No suspects have been apprehended yet.

“We always know there’s antisemitism and hate and racism out there. It’s always out there,” Heftsibah Cohen told KTLA. “But when it comes by your house, it’s that reminder of how real it is.”

“Hanukkah is about restoring and bringing the light to the world, bringing joy, peace, and friendship amongst all communities across the world,” Rodgir Cohen said.

Major cities around the world have beefed up security at synagogues and Jewish institutions after Sunday’s terror shooting in Sydney — one of the deadliest attacks targeting Jews outside Israel in decades and the worst on Jews abroad since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.

The Secure Community Network, the Community Security Initiative, and the Community Security Service — three leading Jewish community groups in the US — issued a set of recommendations in the wake of the attack.

These included coordinating Hanukkah events with local law enforcement and security professionals; extending the security perimeter for events as far away from gatherings as possible; only allowing identifiable and pre-screened invitees into events, and not sending out mass invitations to the public; requiring registration and verification for all entrants; only providing event details, such as time and location, after invitees have registered; implementing access control, such as locked doors and security at entrances, for all events; reporting any suspicious activity; and adding armed on-duty or off-duty law enforcement, private security, and volunteer teams for additional security.

The guidelines were backed by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Anti-Defamation League.

US Jewish security groups have repeatedly shared similar guidelines following threats and attacks against American Jews in recent years, as US Jewish institutions have increasingly tightened their security due to the dangers.

Luke Tress and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.