Florida police arrested a 27-year-old Jewish man, Mordechai Brafman, on suspicion of attempting to murder two men he believed were Palestinian. The victims were an Israeli father and son visiting from Israel.

According to investigators, Brafman overtook their car in Miami Beach, made a U-turn, exited his vehicle and fired 17 shots at them. Local authorities said Brafman didn’t know the victims and there was no prior confrontation between the sides.

Brafman drove home after the shooting and was arrested shortly after. He is charged with attempted murder. While police have not officially determined a motive, they said: “It should be noted that, while in custody in our interview room, the defendant spontaneously stated that while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both. The victims and the defendant do not know each other,” Police added that he told investigators he had killed them.

Brafman, a married plumber, was interviewed last year by Florida media after vandals targeted a Miami Beach bagel shop displaying an Israeli flag. “It’s just horrifying,” he said at the time. “I’d like to see more unity, for people to fight less with each other and be more together.”

  • taiyang@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    He fired 17 times and it’s still just an injury? Oof.

    Also someone needs to figure out if there’s something in Floridian drinking water.

    • dnick@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      Supposedly it not necessarily a Florida thing to be particularly crazy, just that there are fewer protections against reporting and publishing people’s names in Florida.

      It’s like the US version of ‘boy, there doesn’t seem to be much rape in this country where it’s illegal for women to accuse men of rape, but there is a lot of it in the country next to it where it isn’t illegal for women to file police reports. Making it illegal to report rape must significantly decrease it!’