Man shot dead in Haifa in suspected revenge for killing of father and 2-year-old son
Police say man shot in head at restaurant in northern city; investigators said to believe murder linked to Tuesday killing of Firas Heib and his young child
A 23-year-old man was shot dead in Haifa on Thursday in a killing police appeared to believe was linked to the recent murder of a father and his 2-year-old son.
Police said the Nazareth resident was shot in the head in a restaurant in Haifa, and were investigating.
If it was indeed related to the Tuesday double killing, the unnamed man would be the ninth victim of fighting between the Hariri and Bakri rival criminal groups, Kan news reported.
The latest shooting brings the number of members of the Arab community killed in violent incidents to 113 since the start of 2022, according to the Abraham Initiatives watchdog, which tracks the violence. Of the victims, 96 were shot.
According to Kan, Ynet and other outlets, police suspect the shooting could be connected to the fatal shooting of a man and his 2-year-old son on Tuesday as they sat in a car in the northern city of Nazareth.
Firas Heib, 33, was declared dead shortly after being taken to the hospital. His son, Fares, was brought to the hospital in serious condition and was pronounced dead several hours later.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the shooting.
Firas’s father Khaled Heib on Wednesday accused police of not doing enough to prevent the killing, but denied his son was involved in criminal activity.
Speaking to Ynet, Heib said the police bore blame, as they were aware of the volatile situation in the city but did nothing about it. “They know everything. They knew that a person was murdered [in Nazareth] a week ago,” he said.
Outgoing Public Security Minister Omer Barlev called the death of the toddler “horrific” and said those responsible were “brutal criminals who will stop at nothing to harm their opponents.”
He vowed that authorities’ campaign against crime in Arab society would continue, but added that “it is very complex and there are no shortcuts.”
