An upstate New York man pleaded guilty Tuesday to firing two shotgun blasts outside a Jewish synagogue in Albany on the first night of Hanukkah in 2023.
Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, 29, had been arrested at the scene outside Temple Israel on Dec. 7, 2023, after the gunfire sent the synagogue into lockdown.
Alkhader shouted “Free Palestine!” outside the house of worship and later told federal investigators that “events in the Middle East have impacted him.” He opened fire exactly two months after Hamas attacked Israel, sparking the brutal and ongoing war in Gaza.
“The defendant’s violent, antisemitic and terrifying act targeted the Temple Israel congregation, the larger Jewish community, and the right of every person to practice their religion without fear of violence,” U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman said in a statement.
Alkhader pleaded guilty to obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, brandishing a firearm during a crime and conspiring to purchase a firearm unlawfully. He faces a minimum of seven years in prison at his sentencing hearing in June.
More than 60 children were inside Temple Israel at a daycare when Alkhader opened fire, according to investigators. No one was wounded by the blasts, and Alkhader’s gun jammed before he could fire a third shot.
The firearm conspiracy charge was added because Alkhader acquired the weapon from another man, Andrew Miller, who illegally bought it for him in November 2023. Miller copped to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 14 months behind bars.