Man arrested in Santa Monica synagogue bombing

FBI via AP

This video image allegedly shows Ron Hirsch attempting to board a bus April 7, the same day he is suspected of a connection to a synagogue explosion.

EnlargeCloseFBI via AP

This video image allegedly shows Ron Hirsch attempting to board a bus April 7, the same day he is suspected of a connection to a synagogue explosion.

The man is believed to be Ron Hirsch, 60, a transient known to spend time at synagogues and other Jewish community centers seeking charity, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller in Los Angeles. He was wanted on state charges of possession of a destructive device and unrelated local charges, and was arrested in suburban Cleveland Heights.

Investigators do not have a motive for the blast, and Jewish groups said they did not believe anti-Semitism was necessarily behind it.

The explosion Thursday near Chabad House Lubavitch of Santa Monica shattered windows and punched a hole in the synagogue, sending chunks of concrete and a heavy pipe crashing into the roof of a nearby house. Authorities said a child was sleeping almost underneath where the device landed.

Authorities initially believed the blast was an industrial accident, but they now say the device was deliberately constructed and items found at the scene were linked to Hirsch. The FBI said the confusion came from the device

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