Local prosecutors in Florida said on Tuesday their hate crimes unit was probing a shooting by a male suspect who, according to police, fired on two men he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors. 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 U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza following an October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
Israelis shot by Florida man after mistaking them for Palestinians
The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged earlier with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked prosecutors on X for "pursuing hate crimes charges."
According to investigators, Brafman overtook the victims' car in Miami Beach, made a U-turn, exited his vehicle and fired 17 shots at them. Local authorities said there was no prior confrontation between Brafman and the victims, who did not know each other.
Brafman, when interviewed by police, said that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinians. He said that he then stopped, shot at and killed them, according to police.
Jewish Florida man fires at Israelis he mistook for Palestinians
However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israelis and not Palestinians, police said.
Dustin Tischler, a lawyer for Brafman, said they were "fully cooperating" with law enforcement. "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," he said. "It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised. We are committed to working with medical professionals to ensure Mr. Brafman receives appropriate and necessary treatment. My client has no prior history of violent or hateful behavior and is cooperating with law enforcement. He acknowledges the seriousness of the charges but was not able to control his actions״
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Other U.S. incidents include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California and the shooting of three Palestinian American students in Vermont.
Incidents raising alarm over antisemitism include threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York Jewish center and physical assaults against a Jewish man in Michigan, a rabbi in Maryland and two Jewish students in Chicago.
Also in Florida, a local chapter of one of North America's largest fraternities, Pi Gamma Delta, at the University of Central Florida (UCF) came under investigation into alleged "antisemitic hazing rituals." According to reports filed with police, one such ritual involved a student being bound and blindfolded while being forced to hold a swastika for hours. The incident has drawn strong condemnation from university officials and Jewish organizations.