Eritrean mistaken for terrorist was killed by gunfire, not beating
Haftom Zarhum died after being shot by security forces, then kicked in head repeatedly, during Beersheba bus station attack
Forensic pathologists determined Wednesday that an Eritrean man mistakenly shot by security forces and then brutally beaten during a terror attack Sunday night in Beersheba died as a result of bullet wounds, and not due to the blows he sustained during the beating.
The 29-year-old Eritrean national, Haftom Zarhum, died in the hospital after he was shot by police, who thought he was a terrorist, and then beaten by an enraged mob. Videos from the incident showed him fleeing the scene, only to be gunned down and then kicked repeatedly in the head by a crowd in the bus station, who also hurled a bench at his head.
Investigators at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir completed Zarhum’s autopsy Wednesday. According to police source, several gunshot wounds and signs of violence were discovered on his body, but the shooting was what ultimately caused Zarhum’s death.
On Monday, police said in a statement that they viewed Zarhum’s beating as “very grave,” adding that they would “not allow [citizens] to take the law into their hands.” They also called for “everyone to act with restraint and extra caution and allow the police to perform their duty.”
The new findings mean the suspects in the beating cannot be charged with murder but will instead face charges relating to assault, aggravated assault, or attacking a helpless individual, Channel 2 reported.
An IDF soldier, Omri Levy, was killed and 11 others were injured in the stabbing and shooting attack at the city’s crowded central bus station, carried out by an Israeli Arab. Police named the terrorist as 21-year-old Muhanad Alukabi of the Bedouin town of Hura, just east of Beersheba.
The Israeli press expressed outrage over the attack on the Eritrean man, with Yedioth Ahronoth reporting that he was shot “only because of the color of his skin.”
“A dark-skinned, unarmed young man, who apparently fell or was sprawled out on the floor of the station, was shot by a gun-toting man,” the paper reported. “The shooter didn’t even stop to check who it was. He didn’t look to see if he had a weapon in his hand, didn’t try to talk to him.”
The paper continued: “The wounded man… because of his injuries, and certainly also because of his poor command of the language, lay powerless on the floor and no one went to treat him.”
Southern District police chief Yoram Halevy said following a preliminary investigation of the incident that “additional shots were fired by a police Special Patrol Unit officer and a Border Police officer who identified a person — who turned out to be a local resident” and that they were investigating the fact that he was a foreign national.
Meretz MK Issawi Freij called for the arrest of the Israelis who carried out the “lynching” of the Eritrean, the Walla news website reported.
“The lynching of Eritrean citizen Mila Abtom [sic] was the result of the hatred and incitement — in which government ministers are participating — that calls on citizens to take the law into their hands,” Frejj said.
“It’s coldblooded murder of an innocent man who was lying injured and helpless on the floor,” the Meretz lawmaker said. “The police who hurry to arrest every Arab who writes something impolite on Facebook need to immediately arrest every one of the rioters/murders from Beersheba and bring them to justice. Any other action would be a moral void for the state and would give a seal of approval for the murder of innocents.”
From the opposite side of the aisle, coalition member and Jewish Home MK Yinon Magal reacted to the shooting by saying on Facebook that “in every war there’s friendly fire. We need to try hard to prevent this. And still, in percentages, in this war the number of instances of injuries by our forces is low. We must continue and try to strive to reach and eliminate every terrorist.”
