Gunman opens fire on Israeli tourists after mistaking them for Palestinians

(CLO) A Florida man has been arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after opening fire on a car carrying two people he thought were Palestinians.

However, according to local police, the victims were actually tourists from Israel.

Suspect Mordechai Brafman. Photo: X

According to information from the Miami-Dade County Correctional Center, suspect Mordechai Brafman, 27, was taken into custody on Sunday after carrying out the shooting on Saturday.

A Miami Beach Police Department report said that when questioned, Brafman said he saw two men he thought were Palestinians while driving his truck in Miami Beach. He decided to stop the vehicle, opened fire, and believed he had killed them.

However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder, the other in the forearm. Police later confirmed that they were not Palestinians but tourists from Israel.

The incident comes amid rising anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Semitic hatred in the US since Israel launched a war in Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Several attacks against Palestinian and Muslim communities have been reported in recent times, including the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian-American girl in Texas, the stabbing of a 6-year-old boy in Illinois, the assault of a Muslim in New York, and the attack on a group of pro-Palestinian protesters in California.

Mordechai Brafman's case is still under police investigation, and there are currently no details about the suspect's specific motive.

Cao Phong (according to Reuters, CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/my-ke-no-sung-vao-du-khach-israel-vi-nham-la-nguoi-palestine-post334991.html