Man tased, slashed by teen gang after trying to break up Tel Aviv brawl
Sister of 18-year-old victim says assailants attacked him with tear gas, stun gun and a box cutter near Ramat Aviv park; police say 15-year-old arrested
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
An 18-year-old was viciously assaulted by a group of masked teens in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, moments after breaking up a fight between two youths, police said.
Police said they arrested a 15-year-old suspected of involvement in the assault in a park in the north Tel Aviv neighborhood of Ramat Aviv Gimmel.
The victim, an off-duty Israel Defense Forces soldier, was moderately injured in the attack.
In a post on Facebook, the victim’s sister said that her brother was on his way to meet friends for drinks when he broke up a fight between a group of teens.
Later down the road, “seven masked teens from the neighborhood arrived riding electric bikes,” she said. It was unclear if they were involved in the initial brawl.
The victim’s sister told the Ynet news site that the group attacked her brother with tear gas, used an electroshock weapon on him, and cut his head with a box cutter.
She said her brother lost a significant amount of blood from his wounds but was able to call his parents to tell them he had been attacked.
“We were stunned, shocked and cried,” she said of her family’s reaction to the attack on her younger brother who had “dared to do a good deed.”
The victim’s sister, a lawyer, said she believed the assault was attempted murder.
“Who cuts a child’s head from end to end with a box cutter? I hope the police will stop responding to teen violence in an unbearably light way,” she added.
The incident comes amid a rise in violent incidents at high schools, as well as an increase in street violence, particularly road rage.
