Man Reportedly Opens Fire on Israeli Tourists in Florida After Mistaking Them for Palestinians: Police

An Israeli man and his father were allegedly targeted and shot in Miami by a man who believed they were Palestinian.

The frightening incident took place around 9:30 pm on Pine Tree Drive, CBS News reports. Ari Rabi and his father Yaron Rabi had arrived in Florida from Israel for a visit just days before.

Ari and Yaron were in the car when a stranger opened fire at them, shooting 17 rounds. “Some guy thought we were Palestinians and he just started shooting,” Ari told CBS. “Seventeen bullets, only one hit.”

“I got hit in the shoulder. One of the bullets missed my father’s head,” Rabi recounted to the outlet. A bullet reportedly grazed Yaron’s arm, but neither man was seriously hurt.

Both victims were treated for their injuries at a local hospital but have since been released.

The car they were in was reportedly riddled with bullets. The alleged attacker, Mordechai Brafman, 27, was arrested on two counts of attempted second-degree murder, per NBC Miami.

According to an arrest report viewed by NBC Miami, Brafman can be seen on surveillance video driving past the victims and then making a U-turn, stopping in front of them, getting out of his car and shooting at the father and son as their vehicle drives past. 

Brafman’s lawyer, Dustin Tischler, told Local10 in a statement that his client was “experiencing a severe mental health emergency” when he allegedly shot up the Rabis’ vehicle and that his “ability to make sound judgments was significantly compromised.” 

Brafman reportedly confessed to the shooting while in the interview room with detectives.

“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,” reads a police affidavit, per CNN.

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The Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights group, is urging for hate-crime charges to be filed against Brafman, per CNN. 

Brafman, who did not know the two victims, is currently being held without bond. 

The Miami-Dade Police Department did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.