Rashid Baz

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Rashid Baz (born 1966) is a Lebanese-born immigrant and convicted murderer who, in the Brooklyn Bridge shooting, shot and killed 16-year old Ari Halberstam on March 1, 1994, while driving on the ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge (renamed the Ari Halberstam ramp in 1995).

The Shooting

While driving on the approach ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge from the FDR Drive Baz took out two 9 mm semi-automatic pistols and fired on a van carrying 15 members of the Lubavitcher sect of Judaism, who were returning from a visit to the hospital where the Lubavitcher Rebbe had undergone minor surgery. Ari Halberstam was shot in the head and died four days later in the hospital; three other students were seriously wounded in the attack. Baz initially told police that he opened fire because of a traffic dispute.^[1]

Trial

Baz's defense team portrayed him as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his childhood exposure to violence during the Lebanese Civil War. They argued further that Baz's actions were triggered by the killing of 29 Muslims just four days earlier by Baruch Goldstein in Hebron, West Bank. The jury rejected this argument, and on December 1, 1994, Baz was convicted on one count of murder, 14 counts of attempted murder, and one count of criminal use of a firearm.

Sentencing

On January 18, 1995, Baz received a term of 141 years to life in prison. Judge Harold Rothwax stated that Baz deserved the "most severe punishment."^[2] Baz is currently serving his prison term at the Auburn Correctional Facility, in upstate New York.^[3]

Justice Department inquiry

On August 26, 1999 the Justice Department and FBI agreed to open an investigation into Baz. The investigation did not yield any new leads connected to terrorist organizations but the Justice Department did formally reclassify the incident as an act of terrorism.[1]

Confession

But in his confession in 2007, Baz said "I only shot them because they were Jewish.”^[4]

See also

Brooklyn Bridge Shooting

References

External links

• http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/04/march1_04.htm
• http://www.arihalberstam.com/php/5.php
• http://www.meforum.org/article/77
• http://www.nysun.com/article/28767?access=695821