Hermosa Beach police are investigating a possible hate crime after a lit firework was thrown into a crowd of people attending an LGBTQ+ Pride event.
Hermosa Beach police responded to a call on the night of June 17 about an exploding firework being thrown at a crowd of people attending a silent disco event at Vista, a bar and lounge on Pier Avenue near the Hermosa Pier, said police Capt. Landon Phillips.
Fragments of the large firework hit multiple people, but no life-threatening injuries were reported. Two people suffered minor burns, Phillips said.
“It was a large explosion,” he said. “It’s maybe an M-80 or a cherry bomb, but the explosion wasn’t just like a firecracker or an M-80, it actually had some pyrotechnics to it, so it was fairly large.”
Police released a video of the incident, which shows the male suspect lighting and throwing the explosive, then riding away on a gas-powered bicycle with an American flag attached to the back.
Police are searching for the suspect, who appeared to be in his late teens to early 20s and was wearing a black sweatshirt with yellow horizontal and vertical stripes and a red, white and blue helmet.
Phillips said the motive of the crime is unknown, but it is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
“We don’t know if the suspect was targeting that event or just targeting a crowd of people. We’re not ruling it out, so we’re investigating it as a possible hate crime,” Phillips said.
Hate crimes have been on the rise in California. Last year, 2,120 total hate crimes were reported — marking a 20.2% jump from the year prior, according to a California Department of Justice report released Tuesday.
Gay men were the target of 271 hate crimes, a 28.4% increase from 2021, according to the report. Hate crimes targeting transgender people increased by 55%, with 59 crimes reported.
Phillips said anyone with information about the incident should call the Hermosa Beach Police Department at (310) 318-0360.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
