Cops ‘had wanted to take Milhem alive’

8 January 2016, 6:17 pm Edit

Police had sought to capture Tel Aviv gunman Nashat Milhem alive, but “had no choice” but to fire back when he opened fire on them, Channel 2 quotes security officials saying.

The goal had been to capture him alive in order to ascertain whether he had acted alone, and what assistance he had received, the TV report said.

At one point, security forces knew he was moving from one hideout to another, the TV report said, but allowed him to do so without challenging him because they sought to avoid a fire-fight with him.

The report said neighbors in the area where he was killed in a gunfight Friday afternoon had been told to stay indoors for several hours.