The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday that their hate crimes unit is investigating the case. [Getty]
A hate crimes unit in the Miami area is investigating last weekend’s shooting by an American-Jewish man who wanted “to shoot Palestinians” but instead hit Israelis visiting the United States.
The suspect, Morechai Brafman, 27-years-old, is being accused of shooting two men 17 times with a semi-automatic handgun in Miami Beach on Saturday night, after he spotted them from his car and made a U-turn to approach them.
The shooting sent the two victims to the hospital for their wounds, with one reportedly shot in the shoulder and the other hit in the forearm. Ironically, one of the victims shared an initial social media post saying “Death to Arabs” immediately following the attack, apparently believing he had been targeted for his identity as a Jewish Israeli.
“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,” according to the suspect’s arrest report. Brafman was charged with attempted murder.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday that their hate crimes unit is investigating the case.
The office said they’re reviewing the case to see if it meets the requirements for an enhanced penalty under Florida state law.
“The SAO Hate Crimes unit reviews every criminal offence that has the potential of being motivated by hate, to see if Florida‘s hate crime enhancement statute is applicable to the specific situation,” the statement read, according to a local news report.
“The Florida Legislature has taken the approach of creating an enhancement of the underlying criminal charge in such a situation (i.e. a 3rd felony crime charge is enhanced to a 2nd felony crime charge), rather than designating an offence as a specific hate crime. This increases the seriousness of the penalty for a charged crime upon conviction. So technically, there are no hate crimes under Florida law but enhanced hate crimes penalties for such an action.”
Brafman, who is being held without bond, is blaming a mental health crisis for his actions. He is scheduled for arraignment on 10 March.
