Police arrest California couple accused of hate crime in racist road rage incident
Police arrested a California couple accused of hate crimes and vandalism after a racist confrontation in Torrance, a city in the Los Angeles metro area, last week.
Gregory Howell and Rachel Howell, both 29, were arrested Friday, the Torrance Police Department said in a press release.
According to investigators, “the crime began as a road rage situation” at around 10:30 p.m. on July 22.
The victims were in their car when the two suspects stopped their truck in front of them.
When they got out of their truck, the man yelled “white power” and made a Nazi salute. The woman yelled “only white lives matter,” as well as profanities, according to the report.
The suspects then returned to their vehicle, grabbed a shovel and smashed the victims’ vehicle.
The incident, which was caught on cellphone video, was widely shared on social media.
One of the victims, 25-year-old Itzel Lopez, told KTLA that she was driving home with her boyfriend when the attack took place.
“We were just in shock. We didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “Never in my life did I think I was gonna experience this. It’s actually really scary. They don’t even know you and they’re willing to hurt you.”
One of the victims filed a hate crime and vandalism report with police on July 23. After authorities identified the suspects, they obtained arrest warrants on July 24.
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