Border Police trainee killed in accidental discharge is 18-year-old Ori Mechtaiev

By Charlie Summers

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22 February 2026, 8:40 pm

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Ori Mechtaiev, 18, a Border Police trainee who was shot and killed in Azor, in an apparent case of accidental discharge, on February 22, 2026. (Israel Police)

The Border Police trainee fatally shot this afternoon in Azor is 18-year-old Ori Mechtaiev, a resident of the central town, police announce.

The teenager enlisted in the Border Police in November and was still in training when he was shot and killed, reportedly by his friend in the army, in an apparent case of accidental discharge.

Mechtaiev leaves behind his parents and two siblings. He is the son of Ronen Mechtaiev, deputy chief of the Fire and Rescue Service.

Earlier, police said that two people involved in the lethal incident were detained. One of the detainees is a soldier in the Givati Brigade, Haaretz reports.

Police and the IDF’s Military Police are investigating the circumstances of the shooting.