14-year-old boy dies days after being hit by stray bullet while out for pizza

A 14-year-old boy on Tuesday succumbed to wounds he sustained when he was hit by a stray bullet last week as he went to buy pizza in Jisr az-Zarqa in northern Israel.

Walid Shahab was near the pizzeria with his 9-year-old sister when the gunman opened fire on Friday evening.

No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.

CCTV footage showed the hooded gunman, with his face visible to the camera, loitering for a few moments before opening fire as two people exited the pizzeria.

The two children were apparently in the nearby alley when Walid was hit by a bullet.

His mother, Samira Shahab, was waiting in the car when she heard the gunfire.

תיעוד הירי שהוביל להריגתו של הנער וליד שהאב בג׳סר אזרקא. pic.twitter.com/1NYiTDfNy0

— Deiaa haj yahia-ضياء حاج يحيى (@DeiaaHaj) October 18, 2022

She told the Ynet news site that her son’s final words to her were “Mom, I feel like something hit me,” before he lost consciousness as they waited for an ambulance.

In an interview over the weekend while doctors were still trying to save her son, Samira said that their town was unsafe and police weren’t doing enough.

“Today it’s me, tomorrow it’s someone else. A child can’t buy a pizza? Does that make sense? Where are the police in our village?” Samira Shahab told the Kan public broadcaster.

“The gunman came on foot, without covering his face. How come they haven’t caught him yet? The whole village has cameras. So far they haven’t come to me and they haven’t questioned me — nothing,” she said.

According to an initial investigation into the shooting, unknown assailants sought revenge for the death of another teen, Jalal Amash, 17, who was shot earlier last week. They opened fire on Friday on a building where they believed Amash’s killer was hiding, hitting Shahab, who was standing nearby.

Police have so far arrested 11 suspects on suspicion of involvement in the shooting of Amash.

Jalal Amash, shot dead in Jisr az-Zarqa on October 10, 2022 (Social media; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years amid a rise in organized crime and the proliferation of illegal weapons.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, which tracks violence in the Arab community, 92 Arabs have been killed in violent incidents in Israel since the beginning of the year — 77 as a result of gun crime.