A 27-year-old man in Miami Beach, Florida, has been arrested after firing 17 shots at a car carrying two Jewish Israeli men — believing them to be Palestinians.
Mordechai Brafman has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after he pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and opened fire on the vehicle.
This development was reported by The Times of Israel.
According to the police arrest report, Brafman claimed that while driving his truck, he saw “two Palestinians” and shot them, believing he had “killed both.”
However, the victims were actually Jewish Israelis visiting the U.S.
One victim suffered a gunshot wound to the left shoulder, while the other was grazed in the forearm.
Reports in Israeli media indicate that the victims — a father and son — initially believed they had been targeted in an antisemitic attack. A man claiming to be one of the victims later shared the ordeal on Facebook, expressing shock at the mistaken identity behind the shooting.
Authorities are still investigating Brafman’s motives and whether hate crime charges will be added to his attempted murder charges.
