The man who fired two shotgun blasts outside an Albany synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah in 2023 was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison.
Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, 29, pleaded guilty to multiple charges back in February. He expressed remorse at his sentencing hearing.
“I ask God for forgiveness,” he said, according to the Albany Times-Union. “I ask the synagogue for forgiveness.”
Temple Israel was hosting 61 children for preschool on Dec. 7, 2023, when Alkhader opened fire outside.
After his second shot, Alkhader’s weapon jammed, and he was arrested shortly afterward.
The shots, just two months after Hamas’ attack on Israel, sparked terror inside the synagogue. Alkhader also shouted “Free Palestine!” prior to his arrest.
Investigators said he was angry about “events in the Middle East.”
“My daughter was in Hebrew class with her teacher, whose own child was on the other side of the building,” Rachel Mandel told the court. “Her amazing teacher held, hid and comforted my child. She prepared herself and the children in her care to die as victims of hate.”
Alkhader copped 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. Prosecutors sought the 10-year prison term, while Alkhader’s defense team requested eight and a half years.
With News Wire Services
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