Alleged dispute over woman ends in gunshots during Rosh Hashana service.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A 79-year-old man was arrested for allegedly shooting a man outside a storefront synagogue as a Rosh Hashana service was being held inside, authorities said.
Jonathan Samuels, 44, was shot Tuesday outside the Chabad Weltman Synagogue in west Boca Raton and was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, Palm Beach County sheriff's officials said.
Marc Benayer, 79, was arrested and booked on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault with a firearm, officials said.
Both men were celebrating the Jewish new year with about 200 worshippers at the synagogue before the shooting.
The two men fought about a 52-year-old woman who once had a relationship with Benayer and who worked in Samuels' electronics business, said Paul Miller, a Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman.
When their relationship ended in 2004, the woman unsuccessfully sought a restraining order against Benayer, and Samuels and other employees tried to help her get it, Miller said.
The shooting occurred after the woman left the synagogue with her current boyfriend because they were not comfortable with Benayer there, Miller said.
Benayer saw Samuels, walked out of the synagogue with him and they argued. Samuels was shot twice in the chest, said Teri Barbera, a Palm Beach sheriff's spokeswoman.
Samuels ran back into the synagogue and collapsed, witnesses said.