Miami shooting: Jewish man fires at 2 Israeli tourists mistaking them for Palestinians

Charges of attempted murder have been brought against a Jewish man in Miami Beach after he allegedly shot two individuals he thought Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli vacationers, according to local officials

The suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was jailed on Sunday for the Saturday gunshot and charged with two counts of attempted murder, according to the Miami-Dade County Corrections website.

According to a police record released by Miami Beach Police, Brafman told authorities that he noticed two persons he believed to be Palestinians while operating his truck in Miami Beach. Police reported that after that, he stopped, fired at them, and killed them.

But the victims lived. One had an injured forearm, and the other was shot in the shoulder. According to authorities, they were really Israeli tourists rather than Palestinians.

Reuters was unable to quickly identify a lawyer or representative for Brafman.

Human rights activists claim that since Israel, a U.S. ally, began its assault in Gaza after an attack by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, there has been an increase in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and antisemitic hate in the United States.

A 3-year-old Palestinian American girl was drowned in Texas, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy was fatally stabbed in Illinois, a Palestinian American man was stabbed in Texas, a Muslim man was beaten in New York, a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California, and three Palestinian American students were shot in Vermont, among other recent incidents in the United States.

A failed attempt to attack a Jewish centre in New York, physical attacks on a Jewish man in Michigan, a rabbi in Maryland, and two Jewish students in Chicago, as well as threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that resulted in a conviction and sentencing, are among the incidents that raise concerns about antisemitism.