A Florida man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after opening fire on two men in Miami Beach who he mistook for Palestinians, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
According to the arrest report, Mordechai Brafman shot the men 17 times in an "unprovoked" attack, telling officers that while he was driving his pickup truck, "he saw two Palestinians" and opened fire on their car, thinking he had killed the couple. The men survived, with one shot in the shoulder and the other grazed by a bullet.
Brafman, 27, is being held without bail on a charge of attempted second-degree murder in Miami County Jail. According to the Miami Herald, he has been ordered to stay away from the victims, an Israeli father and son who were vacationing in South Florida.
Brafman's attorney, Dustin Tishler, said that at the time of the shooting, his client was in a "severe mental crisis" that caused him to "fear for his life."
"It is believed that his ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised," Tishler said in a statement to The Associated Press, adding that Brafman is seeking "necessary treatment" while cooperating with law enforcement.