Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Arrest made in shooting of Jewish man outside Miami synagogue

Police have yet to say if Carlints St. Louis, 30, will be charged with a hate crime, as they have yet to determine a motive for the shooting.

Carlints St. Louis. Credit: Miami-Dade Police.
Carlints St. Louis. Credit: Miami-Dade Police.

Police apprehended the suspect behind last month’s drive-by shooting of a 68-year-old man at the Young Israel of Greater Miami on Tuesday, thanks to him visiting the Hallandale Beach Police Department on Monday to report that his firearm had been lost from his Chevrolet Impala, which the police searched and matched to the shooting.

“He threw himself under the bus,” said Miami-Dade police spokesman Argmis Colome, as reported The Miami Herald. “That was a good one. He basically carried the evidence with him.”

Carlints St. Louis, 30, was arrested and charged with attempted felony murder, discharging a weapon from a car and aggravated battery on a person over 65.

St. Louis spent Tuesday night behind bars and was denied bond.

Police have yet to say if he will be charged with a hate crime, as they have yet to determine a motive for the shooting.

St. Louis fired six shots at Yosef Lifshutz, with four of them striking his leg.

Hatzalah, the nonprofit emergency medical-service organization, was at the synagogue and assisted Lifshutz, who was brought to Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.

The ammunition used to strike Lifshutz was found in the suspect’s car during the police search.

“Police said St. Louis had not driven the Impala since July 31. Instead, police said, he’s been driving a Toyota Corolla and parking the Impala at his Hallandale Beach apartment complex,” according to the Herald. “On Monday though, he broke that pattern, showing up at the police station in his Impala.”

“Gratitude is one of Judaism’s foundational values, and very much belongs on Rosh Hashanah,” Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, told JNS. “We will never forget the nearly 3,000 victims of this terror attack, many of whom were members of the Jewish community.”
The cohort includes 392 new immigrants—246 men and 146 women.
The fatalities were identified as Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock, 34, from Nokdim, and Chief Master Sgt. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat.
The announcement comes as Israeli banks are expected to end correspondent banking services to Palestinian counterparts.