UCLA police arrest man accused of attacking pro-Palestinian encampment
A man accused of attacking demonstrators inside a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, while wielding a wooden pole was arrested Thursday, authorities said.
Detectives identified and arrested the 18-year-old suspect after reviewing security camera footage, interviewing witnesses and speaking with victims involved in the April 30 attack that took place in Royce Quad, according to a statement from the UCLA Police Department.
The name of the suspect was not revealed in the statement but a law enforcement source confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the man is Edan On.
On is suspected of causing serious injuries to at least one victim when he joined a group of pro-Israeli counterprotesters who attacked the demonstrators.
On, who is not affiliated with the university, was detained by UCLA police officers at a business in Beverly Hills and subsequently booked on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon.
He was being held on $30,000 bail.
The attack on the encampment, which involved pro-Israeli counterprotesters lobbing fireworks and attempting to dismantle the barricades, occurred just hours after UCLA Chancellor Gene Block labeled the encampment as “unauthorized.”
Block said in the days following the incident that he was committed to identifying the perpetrators of violence and holding them accountable.
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The encampment was dismantled two days after the violent encounter during an hourslong operation by Los Angeles police, which resulted in the arrests of more than 200 people.
Demonstrators attempted to construct a new encampment Thursday with wood barricades and umbrellas, blocking access to a portion of campus outside Moore Hall. It was dismantled a few hours later when officials declared it an “unlawful assembly,” and police moved in.
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