The man who fired a shotgun outside a synagogue in Albany and then yelled, “Free Palestine!” on Thursday — sending state troopers and the New York National Guard on high alert — is a 28-year-old Iraqi native, authorities say.
Mufid Fawaz Alkhader of nearby Schenectady allegedly fired two shots into the air from a Kel-Tec KS7 12-gauge shotgun in a wooded area outside Temple Israel in New York’s capital at 2 p.m., shortly before the official start of the first night of Hanukkah, federal prosecutors said..
Alkhader was quickly cuffed after laying down his weapon near the Jewish temple afterward. No one was injured in the incident.
He allegedly told investigators that he felt affected by current events in the Middle East, according to court papers.
A man who identified himself as Alkhader’s father at the accused gunman’s home said his son was mentally ill.
Alkhader appeared in an upstate federal courthouse briefly Friday morning shackled and wearing orange jail clothes with a green jacket over them.
He was charged with one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm as an admitted marijuana user and was held without bail. He faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted.
Alkhader could also face state charges, and officials are also probing possible hate crimes, Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said.
After the shooting, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement, “I am immediately directing New York State Police and New York National Guard to be on high alert and increase the existing patrols of at-risk sites we had planned for the Hannukah holiday.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the NYPD had already been preparing for the start of the Jewish holiday because of mounting tensions and antisemitic incidents throughout the Empire State since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which has prompted retaliation by the Jewish state in the Gaza Strip.
“As our Jewish neighbors begin to celebrate Hanukkah this evening, the New York City Police Department was already and remains on heightened alert to ensure the safety of New Yorkers,” Adams said in a statementThursday.
Alkhader’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday afternoon.
With Post wires