WESTWOOD (CNS) - Charges were pending Monday against a man who was taken into custody after allegedly driving a U-Haul truck into a crowd of protesters in Westwood marching in support of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, police said.
The truck plowed into the crowd on Veteran Avenue, near the Federal Building, around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. A man was struck by the truck, but did not sustain any "significant injuries" and was treated by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, said Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Richard Gabaldon.
Two people were initially evaluated at the scene by firefighters and both declined treatment, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The driver was injured in an "altercation with some of the other protesters," Gabaldon said.
Video showed protesters trying to pull the suspect out of the vehicle. As officers took him from the U-Haul and into custody, angry protesters continued to punch and lash out at him, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Demonstrators pounded on the truck and ripped off a sign attached to the vehicle that had a message reading: `No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don't Repeat 1953. No Mullah, according to The Times.
The sign made references to the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the 1953 coup that ousted Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
Officials do not believe the incident was political in nature or an act of terrorism, but stemmed from an altercation in the crowd, Gabaldon told the Los Angeles Times.
Gabaldon said the suspect could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Police only described the suspect as a man, but did not provide his name or any further description.
FBI agents were "on scene working with LAPD to determine the motive of the driver," Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, wrote on social media at 5:26 p.m. Sunday.
The Times estimated the crowd size at 3,000 people.
Shortly before 5 p.m., the LAFD reported the crowd appeared to be voluntarily dispersing.