MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Jewish Man Charged With Shooting Israeli Tourists He Thought Were Palestinian

Mordechai Brafman, 27, who is reportedly Jewish himself, told police he thought the pair were Palestinians.

A Florida man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at a father and son he thought were Palestinian. Mordechai Brafman, 27, who is reportedly Jewish, “spontaneously stated that while he was driving his truck, he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both,” according to a police report. However, the men were not Palestinian, or dead. Both survived the Miami Beach attack on Sunday, with local media reporting that the victims were a Jewish father and son visiting from Israel. They sustained wounds to their arms. Police said Brafman exited his vehicle and fired 17 times at their passing vehicle. One of the victims, identified as Ari Revay, told WPLG Local 10 that the attack was random. “‘Boom, boom, boom’ and he randomly started shooting,” he said in an interview, translated from Hebrew. “He put the window down, driver’s seat and just blasted.” He said on Facebook that his father was wearing a kippah at the time. Brafman’s attorney told the Miami Herald on Monday that his client “was experiencing a severe mental health emergency” when he opened fire. City of Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez urged Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office to pursue hate crime charges.