After deadly shooting, players practicing nearby help apprehend suspect.
By YAAKOV LAPPINPolice car in Tel Aviv at night 311(photo credit: Yoni Cohen)
An armed criminal assassin who shot dead two men in their 40s in northern Tel Aviv on Thursday night was chased down by members of the Cyber Tel Aviv American Football team and a basketball player who were practicing nearby, leading to his apprehension by police.The shooting took outside the Gadot hall, near the Sportek facility, which is often filled with people playing a variety of sports.The victims were invited to an event held by a relative and were standing outside the venue when they were shot.Police said a gunman was seen arriving and opening fire at two men.The double homicide was likely the result of a criminal feud, police added.After hearing the shots, a basketball player who was nearby chased after the gunman. He was quickly joined by a number of players from the football team.
The players later said they initially suspected the shots were fire crackers, before seeing a basketball player chase a man and hearing others members of the public shouting “murderer!” The players chased the gunman down a road that had a dead end, where the suspect turned around and fired on them.The players took cover and were not hit. At that stage, police officers arrived on the scene and arrested the man.Magen David Adom paramedics attempted to revive the casualties but were not successful, and pronounced them dead shortly afterwards.A media ban prevents the publication of further details from the investigation. The identities of the victims and the gunman’s name have not yet been released.
