Hanukkah Shooting: Man Who Opened Fire Outside Albany Synagogue Gets Years In Prison

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A man who fired a shotgun outside an Albany synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah in 2023 has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, 29, of Schenectady, pleaded guilty in February to a federal hate crime for the Dec. 7, 2023, incident at Temple Israel, as Daily Voice previously reported.

Alkhader took an Uber to the synagogue, walked up the front steps, pulled a shotgun from a duffel bag, and fired two rounds into the air while shouting “Free Palestine.” Adults and children were inside at the time, but no one was injured.

He had planned to shoot out the synagogue’s front windows but instead fired into the air, prosecutors said. When the gun jammed, he tried to pull down an Israeli flag in frustration.

Alkhader’s actions were meant to intimidate the congregation and disrupt Hanukkah celebrations, investigators said.

The shooting forced the synagogue’s daycare into lockdown and left congregants afraid to return, prosecutors said.

Investigators found that Alkhader had illegally obtained the Kel-Tec KS7 12-gauge shotgun through a straw purchase. He went to an Albany firearms dealer in November 2023 with accomplice Andrew Miller, who falsely claimed to be the buyer, according to investigators.

Miller later gave him the weapon and has since been sentenced to 14 months in prison.

The defense said Alkhader has a history of mental illness and had sought emergency medical care multiple times before the incident, including two days prior. They said he has since received treatment and his mental health has improved.

Alkhader, who was born in Iraq and is a US citizen, has been in federal custody since his arrest.