HAIFA SORROW
Victim Guy Kafari, 47, laid to rest in Moshav Ofer
Mourners attend the funeral yesterday in Moshav Ofer of Guy Kafari, 47, who was shot down in Haifa two days earlier. The suspect in the attack, and in another that wounded Haifa Rabbinical Court Judge Yechiel Illouz, turned himself into police late last night.
The suspect in two separate Haifa shootings, which left one dead and one seriously injured on Tuesday, turned himself in to police Thursday evening.
Earlier in the day, Guy Kafari, who was killed in the shooting, was buried in Moshav Ofer.
Kafari, 47, was killed and Rabbi Yechiel Illouz, 48, a judge on the Haifa Rabbinical Court, was seriously wounded in a pair of shootings in the northern city. Police suspect the shootings may have been an act of terror, but further details were under a gag order as of press time.
Earlier Thursday, police raided an abandoned home in the Halisa neighborhood of Haifa, searching for the suspect. A Coastal District spokesman confirmed that the police have identified the suspect, but declined to further comment on the investigation, stating that “all leads are being investigated.”
The first shooting occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Ha’atzma’ut Street, where Illouz was shot multiple times and then evacuated to Rambam Medical Center.
The police were trying to locate the gunman when the second shooting occurred on Hagiborim Street around 10:20 a.m. Kafari was pronounced dead on the scene by Magen David Adom medics.
Police initially suspected that a criminal motive was behind the pair of shootings, and the victims – who are not known to police as persons of interest – were shot in cases of mistaken identity. As the case developed, the central suspicion moved to terrorism.
“All the evidence points to Guy being murdered, murdered because he was Jewish – a nationalist motivation,” Kafari’s brother-in-law Shachar Drori said at the funeral, The Jerusalem Post’s sister paper Maariv reported.
Relatives and friends of the suspect, who spoke with Channel 2, said he is not the type of person they would expect to commit murder.
“He does not fit the mold of someone who murderers innocent people in the streets,” the suspect’s mother said on Thursday. “I’m going through a very difficult period following this manhunt.”
The suspect’s mother, brother and girlfriend have been questioned by police. All of them reportedly said that they had no contact with him since the day of the attacks. The gag order on the suspect’s name sparked criticism of the police among Haifa residents who fear a killer is in their midst and want to help in the search.
A police representative commented, “The public should help only if they are asked.”