Rabbi Yosef Raksin of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was shot and killed Saturday morning during an apparent botched robbery attempt in Miami, Florida, reported Miami-Dade Police.
Police said Raksin, 60-- who was in South Florida to visit his granddaughter and other relatives-- was walking to shul on NE 175th Street near NE 8th Court at around 9:00 a.m. when two men approached him-- one on a bicycle, another on foot-- and shot him.
The Rabbi was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police are still investigating the cause of the shooting.
The Anti-Defamation League released a statement Saturday afternoon from Hava Holzhauer, the ADL Regional Director: "This is a terrible tragedy... Let us hope that the culprits are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.
"At this time, it appears to be a robbery that went badly. Currently no evidence has been brought to light that it was motivated by anti-Semitism. While our community is on high alert due to recent anti-Semitic incidents that have coincided with hostilities in the Middle East, we must be careful not to assume this was a hate-motivated crime unless or until such information is discovered and released by law enforcement."
Levaya (funeral procession) in New York is on Monday, August 11, leaving Shomrei Hadas at 9:45am and passing by 770 at 10:45am. Shiva will take place at 738 Empire Blvd. Shacharis will be at 7:30am. Mincha and maariv will be 7:45 pm.
