Mufid Alkhader, who shouted “Free Palestine!” while firing a shotgun outside a New York synagogue during Hanukkah preparations, has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison.
A chilling attack that shook an upstate New York Jewish community has ended with a heavy prison sentence. Mufid Alkhader, 29, will spend the next 10 years behind bars after opening fire outside Temple Israel of Albany while 61 preschool children and their teachers sheltered inside.
The December 2023 incident unfolded just hours before the first night of Hanukkah and two months after Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel. Armed with a shotgun, Alkhader discharged two rounds into the air, shouting “Free Palestine!” before his weapon jammed. The frightening display forced staff to barricade themselves and the children in classrooms until police arrived.
Although no one was physically harmed, prosecutors stressed the deep psychological scars left on the young children and staff. Federal prosecutors charged Alkhader with obstructing the free exercise of religion by threat of force, brandishing a firearm, and conspiring to unlawfully purchase a firearm. In February, he accepted a plea deal.
Appearing in court in an orange jumpsuit, Alkhader expressed regret, saying, “I know I was not in my right mind”, and asked for forgiveness. His defense team cited severe mental illness in a bid for leniency, but U.S. District Judge Anne Nardacci sided with prosecutors, stating that the terror inflicted warranted the full decade-long sentence.
A second man, who illegally purchased the shotgun for Alkhader in a “straw buy,” was sentenced last year to 14 months in prison.
Community leaders say the attack underscores the growing threat of ideologically driven violence targeting Jewish institutions. The sentencing, they hope, sends a strong message that such acts will be met with the full force of the law.