Soldier charged with murder for Route 6 road rage shooting

State prosecutors have filed an indictment charging a soldier with murder over the fatal shooting of a young Druze man in northern Israel last month.

Police confirmed earlier this week that prosecutors were preparing the charges.

The 21-year-old soldier, who was off-duty at the time, is suspected of killing 23-year-old Sharif Hadid the evening of January 8 following a roadside argument on Route 6, a major highway.

His attorney requested an extension this morning to the gag order preventing his name from being made public.

According to Ynet, he requested the extension to prevent the suspect’s brother from harassment, as he was also initially arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence but was not charged.

The soldier, according to Hebrew reports over the past week, claimed to interrogators he shot Hadid because he felt threatened, after the man and his brother advanced toward him “in a threatening manner.”

However, the victim’s brother, Amir Hadid, who was also at the scene, reportedly claimed the soldier first hit his brother in the head with the barrel of his gun, then shot him five times unprovoked.