Suspect in Haifa nightclub shooting arrested at airport trying to flee country

Report says man was minutes away from boarding Turkey flight when apprehended on suspicion of opening fire toward club; 2nd suspect remains critical after security guard fired back

A suspect in a gunfight that erupted outside a nightclub in Haifa was arrested on Friday at Ben Gurion Airport as he tried to flee the country.

Police issued a statement on Saturday to announce the arrest of the 26-yeard-old resident of Acre.

The Ynet news site said he was minutes away from boarding a flight to Turkey.

The man was suspected of being one of two men who opened fire toward the Edison nightclub on Thursday evening.

The club’s security guard fired back, hitting one of the suspects and critically wounding him.

The 20-year-old man, also from Acre, was taken by paramedics to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center to receive care, where he was hospitalized under sedation.

Hebrew-language reports said his life remained in danger on Saturday.

The second man fled the scene of the shooting on a scooter and remained on the lam until his arrest.

Ynet said there were around 300 young people in the club at the time of the shooting, most of them soldiers. The two suspects had reportedly been refused entry to the venue before they opened fire.