Los Angeles police are again asking the public to help track down four people accused of attacking three members of the Turkish Consulate on the University of Southern California campus on Sept. 29, 2023. The Los Angeles Police Department says the consulate members were shoved, punched, kicked and doused with water as they left a campus event, and detectives are investigating the case as battery and criminal threats with a possible hate-crime enhancement. Still images of the suspects were released this week in hopes that fresh tips will finally put names to the faces.
According to the LAPD, the confrontation unfolded at about 2:26 p.m. near Downey Way and Watt Way, after four suspects who had been part of a larger group of demonstrators allegedly broke off, approached the consulate members and began shouting derogatory statements that escalated into the reported assault. LAPD Major Crimes detectives say the suspects took off before officers reached the scene, and no arrests have been made. Anyone with information has been urged to call Detectives Torres or Allen in the Major Crimes Division at (213) 486-6270, a plea the department shared with outlets including Santa Monica Mirror.
What led to the clash
The victims had just left a foreign-policy event at USC’s Annenberg School that featured Turkish Ambassador Hasan Murat Mercan, whose appearance drew protesters angered by Turkey’s stance in last year’s fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. Student journalists and local coverage described demonstrators chanting outside Wallis Annenberg Hall and some protesters being removed from the program before tensions spilled into the street, according to USC Annenberg Media.
What happened next, and who is responsible, has been the subject of sharply conflicting narratives from community groups and campus organizations. The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Los Angeles office publicly condemned the reported violence and praised both the LAPD and U.S. Diplomatic Security for stepping in and preventing what it said could have been a more serious outcome. At the same time, USC student outlets have reported that the Armenian Student Association stated the four individuals shown in police images are not affiliated with the ASA.
The Turkish Embassy has described the incident as involving “verbal and physical assaults,” while the Los Angeles Times reported that the embassy blamed what it called “radical Armenian groups” for the attack. Police, for their part, have so far limited public comments to the description of the suspects and the potential hate-crime angle, leaving prosecutors to sort out whose version of events will eventually stand up in court.
Legal consequences under California law
If prosecutors ultimately file charges and prove that bias was a motivating factor, the case could come with significantly higher stakes. California law allows sentence enhancements when an underlying felony is found to be a hate crime. Under Penal Code § 422.75, a conviction for a felony that is proven to be motivated by the victim’s protected characteristic can add years to a defendant’s prison term on top of whatever sentence the base crime would normally carry.
How to help
Anyone who recognizes the people in the released photos or has information about what happened that afternoon is asked to contact LAPD Major Crimes Detectives Torres or Allen at (213) 486-6270, according to outreach reported by CBS Los Angeles. Tipsters who want to remain anonymous can reach L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (1-800-222-8477) or submit information online at lacrimestoppers.org. Detectives have also asked anyone who captured photos or video near Downey Way and Watt Way around the time of the incident to preserve that material and make it available to investigators.
