Lod: 11-year-old girl wounded in clan war
Girl belonging to Abu Zeid family had been standing at entrance to clan's compound when shots were fired from a passing car. Police: 'Once again an innocent person who has no part in the conflict has paid the price'
The clan wars in Lod have once again claimed an innocent victim. On Saturday it was an 11-year-old girl who was wounded in a drive-by shooting near her home. Local police have launched an investigation into the incident, but no suspects have been arrested thus far.
An initial probe into the shooting has determined that the girl, a member of the Abu Zeid family, had been standing at the entrance of the clan's compound when an unidentified person fired an automatic weapon towards the compound from a private car as it was driving by.
One of the bullets stuck the girl in her upper torso, narrowly missing two additional female relatives who had been nearby. The girl, who was lightly wounded, was evacuated to the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.
Although police have yet to single out any one party for the shooting, investigators say the perpetrator had no qualms about hitting a child. "It's clear to us that they intended to attack a member of the Abu Zeid family, they didn't care who," a senior officer said. "Unfortunately, once again an innocent person who has nothing to do with these conflicts has paid the price."
Just several months ago another member of the family, a woman in her 40s, was killed by a stray bullet.
A second woman was also wounded in the incident.
At the time police said the shooting had been part of a clan war between the Abu Zeids and the Abu Ghanam family. The response came scant days later, when a member of the Abu Ghanam family, who was not involved in the conflict, was shot and killed.
Sensing the potential explosive nature of the developing situation, local police deployed in large forces throughout Lod in an effort to separate the warring parties.
