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An Israeli father and son on vacation in Miami Beach narrowly escaped death when a gunman opened fire on their car, firing 17 bullets in what they initially believed was an antisemitic attack.
Yarin and Ari Rabey, from Ra’anana, were driving through an upscale neighborhood on Saturday night when Mordechai Brafman, a 27-year-old Jewish man, overtook their vehicle, exited his truck, and began shooting.
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Interview with one of the Israelis shot
Ari, 20, was struck in the shoulder. Speaking from his hospital bed, he recounted the terrifying moments. “The shooting lasted about a minute and a half. He came toward us and fired 17 bullets—it felt like an eternity,” he said. “Two bullets grazed my father’s face. He tried to finish us off, approaching the car doors.”
Brafman was arrested shortly after the shooting and told police: "I killed two Palestinians."
Ari described the moments leading up to the attack, explaining that he and his father had stopped briefly to admire a mansion. “We looked at it and said, ‘Wow, how gorgeous,’ and were there for about a minute. Suddenly, a massive truck appeared, overtook us, made a U-turn, and stopped in front of us,” he said.
Sensing danger, Ari urged his father to drive forward. “As we approached the truck, the driver opened the door and started shooting at us with an automatic weapon,” he said.
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Shooting suspect Mordechai Brafman (left); Ari Rabey struck in the shoulder by a bullet
The two managed to flee while under fire. “When he started shooting at us, we jumped around inside the car. My father kept control of the wheel, driving onto sidewalks so the shooter wouldn’t be able to hit us. We hit speed bumps at 93 mph,” Ari recalled.
Yarin, the father, described how he managed to accelerate away while lying low in the car. “The smell of gunpowder filled the car. He chased us and fired two more bullets, which passed right by my head and, miraculously, didn’t hit me,” he said.
After escaping, they sought help at a nearby hotel, but the staff refused to let them in upon seeing their bullet-riddled car. “We ran down the street to another building, where a security guard armed with a weapon came out and protected us. Soon after, police and ambulances arrived and evacuated us to the hospital,” Ari said.
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At first, the Rabeys had no idea why they had been targeted. Hours later, the FBI informed them that Brafman had been looking for Arabs and mistook them for Palestinians.
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Footage from the shooting scene in Miami Beach, Florida
(Video: Ari and Yarin Rabey)
“They brought us into a room and were very kind,” Ari said. “They explained that the shooter thought we were dead when he was arrested. He told the police, ‘I killed two Palestinians.’”
Despite surviving, both father and son remain deeply shaken. “I’m not okay; I’m terrified,” Ari said. “A Jew almost killed me. No one should harm anyone, and no one has the right to take another person’s life—whether they’re Arab or Jewish. Someone tried to murder us, and we were given our lives back as a gift.”
Yarin emphasized how close they came to being killed. “This was an attack in every sense, even if it was a case of mistaken identity,” he said. “It lasted a minute and a half—he was firing nonstop, and the smell of gunpowder filled the car. The fact that we survived 17 bullets from an automatic weapon is a miracle.”
The two showed remarkable presence of mind during the attack. After fleeing, they abandoned the car and ran for help. “During the attack, we ran toward a building we saw, but the security guard didn’t want to let us in because we were covered in blood and he was scared,” Yarin said. “We ran to another building, where a security guard armed with a weapon came out and helped us get assistance.”
He described the overwhelming trauma of the incident. “We were absolutely terrified. I’m not in good mental shape and am traumatized by what we went through,” Yarin said.
Ari echoed that sentiment. “All the police officers said it’s unbelievable that we survived,” he said. “The shooter fired 17 bullets at our car, and only one hit. It’s truly a miracle.”