Florida man charged with attempted murder after shooting 2 men he thought were Palestinians

A Florida man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after opening fire on two men in Miami Beach who he thought were Palestinians.

According to an arrest report, Mordechai Brafman shot at the men 17 times in the “unprovoked” attack, telling officers that while driving his truck, he “saw two Palestinians” and opened fire on their car, thinking he had killed the pair. But the men survived, one suffering a shot to the shoulder and the other grazed by a bullet.

Brafman, 27, is being held without bond on second-degree attempted murder charges at a county jail in Miami, records show. He has also been ordered to stay away from the victims, an Israeli father and son who were vacationing in South Florida, according to the Miami Herald.

Brafman’s attorney Dustin Tischler has said his client was experiencing a “severe mental health crisis” at the time of the shooting, which caused him to “fear for his life.”

Read more: AP