A Florida man has been charged with attempted murder after shooting two Israeli tourists – who he shot at because he thought they were Palestinian.
Mordechai Brafman, 27, shot at their car 17 times in Miami Beach on Saturday night.
The men in the car – who local media are reporting as father and son – were Israeli visitors unknown to Brafman, according to Miami police. Both survived the attack.
In a police interview, Brafman said he was driving his truck along Miami Beach when he saw two people he assumed were Palestinian – and so he stopped and fired shots, according to police.
Sky News’ US partner network NBC News named the father and son as Yaron and Ari Rabi, respectively.
They report that Ari suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder, while Yaron suffered a graze wound to his left forearm.
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“It was like a truck passing next to (us)”, Ari told Local 10 media in Miami.
“Boom, boom, boom – and he randomly started shooting.
“He put the window down, driver’s seat, and just blasted (us).”
Ari said he was “happy” and thankful to be alive.
Human rights advocates say there has been a rise in Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian and antisemitism in the US since Israel’s war in Gaza.
Other recent incidents include a man from Illinois stabbing 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea al Fayoume 26 times to death – and stabbing his mother a dozen times.
A woman from Texas was also charged with attempted murder – after being accused of trying to drown a three-year-old Palestinian child.