Torrance PD Investigate 'Only White Lives Matter' Hate Crime

TORRANCE - A man and woman who shouted "only white lives matter" while Nazi saluting a Black couple in Torrance, are considered hate crime suspects, police announced Thursday. The incident, which ended with the man attacking the victim's vehicle at a stoplight, was caught on camera.

It's the second viral video of a suspected hate crime to rock Torrance this summer.

In a video circulated on social media, the two suspects — who appear to be a white man and white woman — were outside of their white pickup at a stoplight near Artesia Boulevard and Prairie Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Sgt. Alexander Martinez.

The female suspect said to the victims, who were recording from inside their vehicle, "White lives matter (expletive)" and "only white lives matter (expletive)." The male suspect is seen in the video giving a Nazi salute.

The suspects briefly got back in their vehicle, then the male suspect exited, grabbed a gardening tool from the pickup's bed and allegedly hit the victims' car, according to the video and Martinez.

One of the victims filed a police report about 10:50 a.m. Thursday, and authorities are investigating the incident as a hate crime, Martinez said.

The race of the victims was not immediately confirmed, Martinez said, but a Twitter user claiming to be the female victim's cousin said that the male victim is Black.

In June police investigated a woman for a series of alleged hate crimes in Torrance including a pair of viral videos showing racist rants targeting Asian Americans. The incidents prompted a rally in solidarity with the victims.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.