Two Men Sought in Fatal Shooting of Orthodox Rabbi in Northeast Miami
A 60-year-old Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn, N.Y., on his way to a local synagogue was gunned down in broad daylight Saturday morning during a likely random robbery attempt on Northeast 175th Street, according to Miami-Dade police and local Jewish community leaders.
The shooting victim, Joseph Raksin, was walking eastbound on Northeast 175th Street at about 9 a.m. when he was confronted by two young men. Following an altercation, Raksin was shot by one of the two young men, police said.
It’s unclear how many shots were fired at Raksin. But Raksin’s critical wounds prompted authorities to immediately airlift him to the Ryder Trauma Center, where he later died.
The shooting took place in an area of unincorporated Northeast Miami-Dade near North Miami Beach, where swastikas found painted on a local synagogue last month have worried local Jewish leaders.
“At this time there is no indication of this being a hate crime,” said Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Elena Hernandez in a statement.
She said police are searching for two young male suspects, one of whom may have fled on a bicycle. The other may have run from the area on foot.
Late Saturday, Hava Holzhauer, the Anti-Defamation League Florida Regional Director, whose organization has been in close contact with Miami-Dade homicide investigators, said the crime “appears to be a robbery that went badly.”
“Currently no evidence has been brought to light that it was motivated by anti-Semitism,” said Holzhauer.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” said Holzhauer. “While the motivation for this crime is still being investigated, nothing can justify the killing of an innocent man walking to his place of worship to pray on his holy day.”
Miami-Dade police have not commented on whether the shooting was connected to a robbery attempt on Raksin.
Yona Lunger, a local Jewish community activist and member of the Shmira Patrol — a neighborhood watch group — confirmed to the Miami Herald late Saturday that Raksin was an Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn who was in South Florida to visit his granddaughter and other relatives.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/09/4280988/two-men-sought-in-fatal-shooting.html#storylink=cpy
Well this is terrible news. My daughter lives in this neighborhood. She said her husband has been considering buying a gun as many members of their congregation carry. He has been resistant to the idea because he is from the UK.
“At this time there is no indication of this being a hate crime,” said Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Elena Hernandez in a statement.
It was a Saturday. Jews don’t carry money on Saturday. Yes it for damn certain was a hate crime—the feds take this very, very seriously.
That break in I had 4 years ago? That was classified as a hate crime when it was prosecuted apparently the perp was targeting Jewish homes because he thought “Jews have money” or whatever. They took our TV but did not steal the Sabbath silverware, and the robbery was done on a Tuesday but I got a letter from the Justice Department that this was classified as a hate crime in addition to regular robbery.
UPDATE: This happened 2 blocks from where my daughter lives. My son (also in Miami) is urging her and her husband to attend the “gun safety” course that my daughter-in-law attends.
My son is already trained in firearms from his service in the IDF.