Rabbi Joseph Raksin was shot dead Saturday on the way to synagogue in Miami.
Police are searching for two men.
The shooting took place in the same area where swastikas were painted on a local synagogue in July.
The Miami Herald reported:
A 60-year-old Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn on his way to a Northeast Miami-Dade synagogue was gunned down Saturday morning during a likely random robbery attemp, according to Miami-Dade police and local Jewish community leaders.
The shooting victim, Joseph Raksin, was walking eastbound on Northeast 175th Street and Eighth Court at about 9 a.m. when he was confronted by two young men. Following an altercation, Raksin was shot by one of the men, police said.
It’s unclear how many shots were fired at Raksin. But the New York rabbi’s critical wounds prompted authorities to iairlift 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.
Pamela Geller has more.