FBI investigating after man claims 3 people assaulted him in Oakland after seeing his Star of David

PITTSBURGH — The FBI is investigating an alleged instance of ethnic intimidation and assault of a man in Oakland.

Pittsburgh Police were called to the area of Semple and Ward streets at 2 a.m. on Friday.

A man with a bruised lip said he had been attacked by a group of about eight men.

He claimed the situation began when the men saw his Star of David necklace and began insulting him about Israel.

The situation escalated as the man began arguing back with the group.

Eventually, three of the men from the group began punching and kicking him.

A bystander was able to break up the situation.

The victim reported the incident to Pitt Police, who handed the case to Pittsburgh Police.

The FBI was called to help in to help identify the suspects.

Pitt Police have released descriptions of the suspects as:

• Suspect #1 – Male, aged 20-24, about 6 feet tall and 170 pounds, brown complexion, dark hair and a beard, wearing a white t-shirt and a gold chain.
• Suspect #2 – Male, aged 20-24, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 170 pounds, brown complexion, dark hair and a beard, wearing an orange shirt.
• Suspect #3 – Male, aged 20-24, over 6 feet tall and about 200 pounds, brown complexion, dark hair and a beard, wearing a dark-colored zippered hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information is asked to call Pittsburgh Police Zone 4 at (412) 422-6520 or FBI Pittsburgh at (412) 432-4000.

Channel 11 spoke to the man who stepped in and broke up the fight. He was inside a convenience a convenience store.

“I hear some noise outside. When I went out of the store, I see people fighting together but it’s not fighting, it’s shouting,” he said. “I start to separate them just to protect my customer because I knew the customer who was attacked.”

The man didn’t want to give his name or show his face, but he told us he did not recognize the other men involved.

“I tried to protect him and told the other people it’s not good [to do this].”

The fight came just weeks after another incident where two Jewish students were attacked.

“It is worrisome. I think everyone should be able to practice their faith freely and be able to peacefully coexist,” student A.J. Chris said.

“[As] somebody who has multiple Jewish friends, thinking of something like that happening to any of them would be awful,” student Riley Nolan said.

Both are hopeful something can be done to stop future acts of violence.

The University issued a statement condemning the attacks.

“Early this morning, a group of individuals assaulted a Jewish student off-campus, while using antisemitic language during the attack. The University of Pittsburgh unequivocally condemns antisemitism. Any violence or antisemitic acts against our community will not be tolerated. Regardless of who it comes from, or who it is directed at, hate of any kind has no place in our community. We are offering resources and support to the victim, in addition to any other community members who are impacted by this horrific incident, now and in the future. The FBI and City of Pittsburgh Police are leading this investigation.”

Meantime, a national Jewish organization is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest. You can call 1-347-302-5617 for more information.

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