Israeli man stabbed to death outside of synagogue, motive unkown

Police arrest Jewish suspect who had fled to a nearby apartment in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi

Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.

Police stand outside the apartment of an Israeli man suspected of having stabbed and killed another man outside a synagogue in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi on June 23, 2016. (Israel Police)
Police stand outside the apartment of an Israeli man suspected of having stabbed and killed another man outside a synagogue in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi on June 23, 2016. (Israel Police)

An Israeli man was stabbed to death outside of a synagogue in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday morning, police said.

After speaking with witnesses, officers arrested a suspect, reportedly a Jewish resident of the city, who had fled to a nearby apartment.

When police arrived at the apartment, the suspect refused to let them, forcing the officers to call in firefighters to break down the door, a police spokesperson said.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect had suffered a minor head wound, police said.

A police spokesperson would not comment on Hebrew media reports that the wound was the result of a suicide attempt, but said “the circumstances are being investigated.”

The scene of a fatal stabbing in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi where a 28-year-old man was killed on June 23, 2016. (Israel Police)
The scene of a fatal stabbing in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi where a 28-year-old man was killed on June 23, 2016. (Israel Police)

The suspect was brought to the local police station in Kiryat Malachi for questioning.

The stabbing occurred just before 9 a.m. at a synagogue on Menachem Begin street.

The 28-year-old victim was pronounced dead on the scene by first responders, a spokesperson for the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.

The circumstances behind the incident were not immediately clear. Police began collecting evidence and testimony from witnesses to determine the reasons behind the stabbing, a spokesperson said.

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