Police arrest four in shooting of Acre mayor

Suspects were allegedly involved in a March attack that left Shimon Lankri seriously injured

By ToI Staff 28 October 2013, 4:57 pm

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Acre Mayor Shimon Lankri speaks to the media about the attempted attack on his life (photo credit: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv/Flash90)

Police overnight Sunday arrested four suspects allegedly involved in the shooting of Acre Mayor Shimon Lankri in March.

An investigation by the central unit of the coastal district police has yet to determine the motive behind the shooting, Commander Eli Assayag said.

The four suspects, all of whom are in their twenties, hail from the town of Jadeidi-Makr, according to police.

Lankri was shot in the chest at close range by a masked gunman late in the evening on March 21, when he stopped his car at a traffic light near the Kafr Yasif junction, in the vicinity of his hometown in northern Israel.

He managed to drive away and call rescue services and was whisked by ambulance to a hospital in Nahariya, in serious but stable condition.

Local authorities launched a strike in April over what they called the failure of the national government to provide proper security to mayors.

Last week, Lod city council candidate Abd al-Karim Azbarga was shot in the stomach by a masked man as he was leaving a campaign event on the eve of municipal elections.