A 44-year-old security guard was arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon on Feb. 14 after he allegedly shot and wounded a woman who was filming in front of a synagogue in the 7600 block of Beverly Boulevard.

Zhoie Perez spoke to reporters on Feb. 14 after she was shot by a security guard outside a temple on Beverly Boulevard. (photo by Edwin Folven)

LAPD spokesman Barry Montgomery said Wilshire Division officers received a call at 12:20 p.m. about a disturbance outside Congregation Etz Jacob at 7629 Beverly Blvd. As officers were responding, they received a report that a shooting had occurred.

Police found the victim near the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Stanley Avenue. She was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and treated for a graze wound to her right leg. After she was treated, police later drove the victim back to the site of the shooting and released her, per her request.

The security guard, Edduin Zelayagrunfeld, was detained at the scene for questioning and charged later that night. The investigation is ongoing and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has yet to file criminal charges. Montgomery said anytime a gun is discharged in public, police protocols call for an investigation.

The victim, who gave a statement to the media, identified herself as Zhoie Perez, 45. She said she is a member of a group known as First Amendment Audit, whose members gather outside public buildings with cameras and photograph and videotape everyday activity. The group’s activity sometimes prompts people to call police, and members film their encounters with officers. The videos are then posted on YouTube and social media sites.

While Perez admitted to being a member of First Amendment Audit, she said she was filming the front of the synagogue as a private citizen because she liked designs on a wrought-iron fence in front of the temple, which also operates a day school at the site. The security guard is employed by the temple.

Perez filmed a portion of the encounter with the security guard prior to the shooting and posted it on YouTube. In the video, the security guard is seen pointing his finger and yelling at the person behind the camera.

Police are seeking information from anyone who witnessed the shooting, and urged to call Wilshire Division detectives at (213)922-8205.