A Jewish man riddled a car with bullets in Miami Beach after spotting who he thought were “two Palestinians” in it — only the victims were actually a father and son visiting from Israel, cops say.
Mordechai Brafman, a 27-year-old plumber, allegedly fired 17 shots at the Hyundai around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, wounding the two Israeli Jews inside it before driving off and getting nabbed by cops nearby, according to WSVN-TV News and Ynet News.
Brafman is now locked up and facing attempted-murder charges.
“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,” police told the TV outlet, quoting the suspect as mistakenly thinking he had murdered the pair.
One of the victims was shot in his left shoulder, while the other suffered a graze wound to his arm, Ynet said.
“The victims and the defendant do not know each other,” cops added in their statement.
Police said Brafman was driving on Alton Road just north of 48th Street when he saw the two victims and made a U-turn, pulled up to the car and started shooting.
“It was a truck passing next to [us],” the younger victim, identified by WPLG-TV as Ari Revay, told the station in Hebrew. “Boom, boom, boom, and he randomly started shooting.
“He put the window down, the driver’s seat and just blasted,” Revay said. “God, life is a gift.”
Video footage posted on X by a WSVN reporter showed one of the victims with a bullet hole and bloodied t-shirt and sitting in a hospital bed.
Records show Brafman is being held without bond at the Miami-Dade County Jail.
He previously landed in the news in 2023, when he was quoted by media outlets after a local bagel shop was vandalized for flying an Israeli flag.
“It’s just horrifying,” Brafman said at the time. “I’d like to see more unity, for people to fight less with each other and be more together.”
