Israeli Tourists Shot By Man Who Believed They Were Palestinian, Police Say
A Florida man was charged on Monday and accused of attempting to kill two Israeli men who he allegedly believed were Palestinian in a shooting that took place over the weekend.
Mordechai Brafman, 27, was taken into custody by Miami Beach police on Saturday and charged with two felony counts of second-degree attempted murder in an attack police described as 'unprovoked,' according to a criminal complaint obtained by HuffPost. Both victims, who were driving at the time of the shooting, survived, but they sustained injuries.
Surveillance footage cited in the complaint showed Brafman's car traveling down a Miami Beach road before making a U-turn and stopping in front of the other vehicle. Brafman then came out of his vehicle and fired 17 rounds at the car as the men drove past him, the complaint said.
Police said Brafman then drove less than a mile away from the scene where a responding officer took him into custody, according to the complaint. One victim sustained a gunshot wound to the left shoulder while the other sustained one to the left forearm.
The victims were not named in the complaint, but police told CNN they were tourists visiting Florida from Israel. ABC affiliate WPLG identified the two as Ari Rabi and his father.
'It was a truck passing next to (us),' Rabi said in Hebrew, with his cousin translating for the outlet. ''Boom, boom, boom,' and he randomly started shooting.'
During his interview with police, Brafman 'spontaneously stated that while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both,' police noted in an unredacted version of the complaint cited by WPLG.
Brafman was previously interviewed by local news outlet WSVN in December 2023, when a bagel shop in Miami Beach displaying Israel's flag was vandalized. At the time, Brafman called the incident 'absolutely abhorrent.'
'I'd love to see some unity and people coming together and fighting less and being together more, ' Brafman told the outlet.
Attorney Dustin Tischler, who is representing Brafman, told HuffPost on Tuesday his client is a father of two with no prior history of violent or hateful behavior.
'At the time of the incident, Mr. Brafman was experiencing a severe mental health crisis which caused him to be in fear for his life,' Tischler said. 'It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised.'
Tischler said he and his client are fully cooperating with law enforcement and committed to working with medical professionals to ensure Brafman receives appropriate and necessary treatment.
'Most importantly, we are deeply relieved that the victims are out of the hospital and recovering,' Tischler said.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations addressed the incident in a press release on Monday, calling for Brafman to be charged with a federal hate crime.
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