A Florida resident was arrested by police after shooting at a vehicle in Miami Beach in which he claimed were "two Palestinians" on Saturday, according to local reports.
They were actually Israeli tourists.
The man, Mordechai Brafman, 27, opened fire on the two men Saturday night, firing 17 shots. Local reports say he told police that “while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.” Israeli media have identified Brafman, a plumber, as Jewish.
In fact, the men, a father and son, survived with injuries to their forearm and shoulder, respectively, and were taken to the hospital.
The man who was shot in the shoulder, Ari Ribay, posted on Facebook that he and his cousin Yaron were driving in Miami when a truck pulled up beside them, and the driver began to spray bullets at them. Footage showed bullet holes in the car and Ribay coming out with a bloodstained shirt.
Victims reportedly visiting from Israel
Before learning the shooter was Jewish, Ribay posted on Sunday morning that he believed the shooting came from a “nationalist motive.” He also posted a photo of himself hooked up to monitoring devices in a hospital bed.
“They shot me and my father in the car [with] 12 bullets,” he wrote. “One hit me, and I and my father are here in the hospital in Miami. My father is in shock and horror. We need your help.”
In 2023, a local TV channel identified Brafman as a “frequent customer” of Bagel Time Cafe, a local kosher restaurant whose Israeli and American flags had been torn down.
“It’s absolutely abhorrent to see this kind of vandalism for not only showing pride for Israel, but pride for the United States,” he said at the time.
He has been charged with attempted murder and is due to appear in court on Monday. His attorney said in a statement on Monday that at the time of the shooting, he was “experiencing a severe mental health emergency. It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised.”
Local prosecutors in Florida said on Tuesday their hate crimes unit was probing the shooting.
The Miami-Dade state attorney's office said its hate crimes unit "reviews every criminal offense that has the potential of being motivated by hate."
Rights advocates note a rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and antisemitic hate since the start of US ally Israel's war in Gaza following an October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas terrorists.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked prosecutors on X for "pursuing hate crimes charges."
Dustin Tischler, a lawyer for Brafman, told the Washington Post they were "fully cooperating with law enforcement" and "acknowledge the seriousness of the allegations." He added Brafman had been "experiencing a severe mental health crisis which caused him to be in fear for his life."