The suspect accused of firing gunshots outside of an Albany, New York synagogue is an immigrant to the United States from Iraq and said, “Free Palestine” when police officers arrested him.
Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, 28, has been arrested and charged with firing two shots from a Kel-Tec KS7 12-gauge pump-action shotgun outside the Temple Israel synagogue in Albany on Dec. 7, the first night of Hanukkah.
Alkhader did not injure anyone at the time of the shooting, but children at the synagogue’s preschool were forced to take shelter. When police officers arrested Alkhader, he told them “Free Palestine” and later told officers that “The events in the Middle East have impacted him.”
Though it is unclear what visa or green card category Alkhader used to arrive in the U.S., he immigrated from Iraq and eventually was able to secure naturalized American citizenship.
On Monday, federal prosecutors charged Alkhader with conspiracy to make a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. He was previously charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, because he was under the influence of marijuana at the time.
In the latest charge, prosecutors allege that Alkhader knew he was not allowed to own a firearm due to a prior restraining order that had been placed on him. As a result, prosecutors allege Alkhader had a friend purchase the firearm for him, sending the friend $600 in return.
Alkhader faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum of three years of supervised release, and up to a quarter of a million in fines if convicted of the charges.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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