|
According to an arrest report, Mordechai Brafman shot at the men
17 times in the “unprovoked” attack, telling officers that while
driving his truck, he “saw two Palestinians” and opened fire on
their car, thinking he had killed the pair. But the men
survived, one suffering a shot to the shoulder and the other
grazed by a bullet.
Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree
attempted murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records
show. He has also been ordered to stay away from the victims, an
Israeli father and son who were vacationing in South Florida,
according to the Miami Herald.
Brafman’s attorney Dustin Tischler has said his client was
experiencing a “severe mental health crisis” at the time of the
shooting, which caused him to “fear for his life.”
“It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was
significantly compromised,” Tischler said in a statement to The
Associated Press, adding that Brafman is seeking “necessary
treatment” while cooperating with law enforcement.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, the Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization,
has called for federal hate crime charges against Brafman,
saying his alleged bias against Palestinians should warrant the
charges regardless of the victims’ ethnicity.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
