Man accused of Sunny Isles Beach attacks on Jewish community held without bond
MIAMI - Three days. Three separate attacks in Sunny Isles Beach. With the rise of antisemitism, many in the city's Jewish community are scared and police say this behavior will not be tolerated.
Over the weekend, police made an arrest.
Mohammed Ali Alsaccal, 39, was reportedly involved in the incidents that targeted Jewish people. He's accused of brandishing a weapon and making threats to harm them. On Sunday, he shook his head while a judge read the charges against him.
"You do see that the defendant stated that Jews are the devil and all Jews must die," said the judge.
Sunny Isles Beach police said the attack happened last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and targeted members of the Orthodox Jewish community. They said they have zero tolerance for any kind of hate.
"It's extremely scary as we know there's a lot going on in this world and everyone is pretty much on edge. Everyone is on alert so clearly when an individual like this targets a specific group, especially the Jewish community, everybody is just extremely afraid," said Sunny Isles Beach police Sergeant Melissa Porro.
According to an incident report, Ali Alsaccal was holding a sharp object during the attacks.
The victims, recovering from the fear, said they were thankful this wasn't worse.
"They're thankful that no one was hurt. Fortunately, our officers acted quickly. They were able to find this individual, place him under arrest, and he's in jail now where he belongs," said Porro.
Ali Alsaccal is facing a long list of charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and credible threats related to religious or ethnic heritage. He remains in jail with no bond.