Manslaughter suspected in border policeman’s death

Police on Thursday launched an investigation into whether the death of a Border Police officer on Wednesday was a case of manslaughter.

Cp. Avi Gronov, a 19-year-old border policeman, was killed when a gun held by his comrade was fired.

Officials said Gronov was shot at a Border Police base near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in Israel’s south. Initial information pointed to Gronov’s friend shooting him in the head.

Initial suspicions suggested the incident was an accident, but a probe by the Police Internal Investigations Department indicated that Gronov and a fellow policeman got into an argument on Wednesday, during which the second man pointed his weapon at Gronov.

The suspect apparently cocked his weapon and discharged a bullet, which struck Gronov in the face.

Investigators said that the suspect was cooperating with the inquiry and reenacted the incident, after which he was released. The investigation was ongoing, Channel 10 reported.

Paramedics who arrived at the scene of Gronov’s shooting found him unconscious and in critical condition.

He was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon but resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and he later died of his wounds.

Gronov, a resident of the southern town of Sderot, is survived by his parents and two sisters.