More than three weeks after a 68-year-old man was shot as he waited to pray outside a Northeast Miami-Dade synagogue, police have announced an arrest.
Carlints St. Louis, 30, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted felony murder, discharging a weapon from a car and aggravated battery on a person over 65.
He was being held Tuesday night in Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with no bond.
Police did not say Tuesday whether the shooting would be considered a hate crime nor did they reveal a motive behind the shooting in his arrest report.
Longtime congregant Yosef Lifshutz was shot multiple times July 28 as he waited in front of Young Israel of Greater Miami at Northeast 10th Avenue and 171st Street .
Police say StLouis drove up to the synagogue in a black Chevrolet Impala, got out of the driver’s seat and “assumed a shooting stance while pointing a firearm at the victim.”
He then shot Lifshutz several times, police said. Lifshutz was rushed to Aventura Hospital and Medical Center. The synagogue said the man was shot six times and underwent surgery. He is recovering.
Police used surveillance video from the synagogue and surrounding area to get a description of the car involved, according to the arrest report. There were also nine bullet casings found on the scene, police said.
“An investigative review of the videos revealed multiple unique characteristics and the defendant was revealed as a possible suspect,” an officer wrote in the report.
Police said the physical description of the shooter also matched StLouis and his car was spotted in the area on a license plate reader.
A records check showed the Chevy Impala has belonged to StLouis since 2011 and that he is the only male registered to the car, according to the report. Police say StLouis has had 17 traffic citations while driving the car. Cell phone tower records placed him in the area.
Police say he hasn’t driven the Impala since July 31. Instead, it’s been parked at his Hallandale Beach apartment complex. He has been driving a Toyota Corolla, police said.
On Monday, StLouis filed a police report in Hallandale Beach saying his 9MM gun was stolen out of his Impala. The next day he was arrested. Officers found a loaded semi-automatic firearm magazine in the car. The rounds in the magazine matched the casings found in front of the synagogue, police said.