Man accused of shooting at car in Miami Beach thinking occupants were Palestinians, arrest documents say
MIAMI — A man is facing charges following accusations that he opened fire on a vehicle in Miami Beach Saturday night after he saw two men in it who he thought were Palestinians, arrest documents said.
Mordechai Brafman, 27, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder for the shooting.
Around 9:30 p.m., surveillance video captured Brafman's truck traveling south on Pine Tree Drive and making a U-turn at 48th Street, where the victims' vehicle was stopped just north of 48th in the left lane.
At that point, Brafman drove by and stopped directly in front of them in the right lane, where he left his vehicle and shot at the victims' vehicle "17 times, unprovoked, striking both victims" as they passed him, arrest documents said.
In an interview with CBS News Miami on Monday, Ari Rabi, an Israeli tourist and one of the victims, said he and his father were visiting Miami Beach when someone opened fire on them. Rabi said he was shot in the left shoulder while his father was grazed by a bullet in the left forearm.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom. I got hit in the shoulder. One of the bullets missed my father's head," Rabi said through his cousin, who served as an interpreter.
According to Rabi, neither he nor his father knew Brafman prior to the incident. Rabi clarified that they're not Palestinian.
Following the shooting, Brafman then drove to an area near 4887 Pine Tree Dr., where he was then taken into custody by responding officers, arrest report stated.
At the request of Brafman's attorney, he was not interviewed about the incident.
However, the arrest documents noted that while he was in custody, Brafman spontaneously said that while he was driving his truck, "he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both."
