Solomon Tekah, 18 years old, sat with his friends at a playground in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Haim in the evening of June 30. At some point police officer in civilian clothes shot at Tekah, who was hit in the chest and died on the spot. These are the only undisputed facts in this tragedy. The policeman, who was at first placed on house arrest, was moved to a secret location along with his family for fear they would be harmed in the outrage that followed.
According to the officer, he noticed an altercation among a group of youths at the playground. He identified himself and in response the group attacked him with stones until he was forced to shoot in self-defense. He shot toward the ground but the bullet ricocheted and hit Tekah’s chest, killing him. At this stage the ballistic analysis is inconclusive.
