Local prosecutors in Florida said on Tuesday their hate crimes unit was probing a shooting by a male suspect who, according to police, fired on two men he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors.
The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office said its hate crimes unit “reviews every criminal offense that has the potential of being motivated by hate.”
Rights advocates note a rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and antisemitic hate since the start of U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 7, 2023, attack.
The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged earlier with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked prosecutors on X for “pursuing hate crimes charges.”
Brafman, when interviewed by police, said that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinians. He said that he then stopped, shot at and killed them, according to police.
However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israelis and not Palestinians, police said.