Suspect targeted Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass in home break-in, official says

A 29-year-old suspect has been charged with burglary and vandalism after a break-in at the home of Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass last weekend.

Authorities believe the man was “targeting” the mayor, but did not specify any reasons why.

Ephraim Matthew Hunter, a Los Angeles resident, was charged with a felony count of first-degree residential burglary and a felony count of vandalism, Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascon said.

Hunter is alleged to have shattered a rear glass door early on Sunday morning to gain entry to the Getty House, the mayor’s official residence, and was cut by glass and left bloodstains throughout the home.

The mayor, her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild were in the home at the time.

“We believe that he was targeting the mayor,” Mr Gascon said, without providing specific details how investigators reached that conclusion. “We are going on the assumption that he knew that it was her residence.”

“We are glad that there were no injuries, and the mayor is OK,” Mr Gascon added.

Hunter is being held on 100,000 dollar (£80,600) bail.

Ms Bass told reporters on Monday: “I am fine. My family is fine.”

She served as a Democratic member of Congress from 2011 until her election as the city’s 43rd mayor in 2022.

The former state assembly leader is the first woman and second black person to hold the post, after former Mayor Tom Bradley, who held the position from 1973 to 1993.