Why are they so quick to deny it is a hate crime?

So someone just shot up an LA area synagogue, wounding two. For some reason the authorities don't want people thinking it was a hate crime:

While police initially said they were investigating the shooting as a hate crime, officials later said it's too early to tell whether the attack was motivated by religious hate.

The initial description of the suspect was of a black man wearing a black hoodie. But law enforcement sources told The Times that the investigation is wide open and that police are investigating all possibilities, including whether the gunman specifically targeted either of the victims.

One source said detectives were not certain of the suspect's race.

Speaking to reporters outside the taped-off synagogue, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the incident "a senseless act of violence." But the mayor was careful to temper worries that the shooting was a hate crime.

"None of us should presume or speculate more about this other than it was a random act of violence," he said.

None of us should speculate? Why can't we speculate that it's a hate crime. I know as a Russian Jew I have a genetic disposition towards paranoia (I wonder why we acquired that trait?) but this smells fishy. Could it have been a member of a group that is known to hate Jews but is currently protected by the politically correct schmucks in power who keep claiming their's is a Religion of Peace? I could be wrong and it could be a neo-Nazi but based on the original description of the assailant, I doubt that.