Florida Teen Arrested for Hate Crime After Spraying Jewish Pedestrians with Water Gun

A 19-year-old Florida man has been arrested and faces felony charges after allegedly spraying two Jewish pedestrians with liquid from a water gun. Authorities are investigating the incident as a hate crime. The suspect, Amir Ayesh of Plantation, Florida, is expected to be charged with two counts of battery with prejudice, a hate-crime-related charge under Florida law.

The alleged incidents occurred on May 9 in northeast Miami-Dade County, an area with a significant Jewish population. Victims reported that an individual in a black vehicle sprayed them with an unknown liquid. Detectives identified Ayesh as the suspect after reviewing surveillance footage. An arrest warrant was issued on June 11, and Ayesh was apprehended on June 18.

This arrest follows a similar case in Miami Beach earlier this year where two South Florida men were arrested for targeting a Jewish man with a water gun and shouting antisemitic slurs. The latest incident occurs against a backdrop of rising antisemitic incidents across the United States, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting a significant increase in such events.