Security footage of attack
WATCH: Hate crime caught on camera
Three brothers arrested on suspicion of assaulting an Arab youth in racist incident in Jerusalem.
Three brothers were arrested for their involvement in the assault of an Arab youth in Jerusalem. Video footage shows the three Israelis rush through a supermarket, into which an Arab employee had escaped and was hiding in the restroom.
They are caught on camera running into the store with a large stick and an iron rod, as customers flee in terror – watching the horrifying incident inside the market.
Jerusalem police officers arrested the three brothers – David, Shlomo, and Eliezer Ofri – on Monday, suspecting the three committed the crime out of nationalistic motives. The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extended their remand by four days.
Security cameras' footage of attack
The investigation discovered that on Sunday two of the suspects arrived in their vehicle to Yehuda HaMacabbi street in Jerusalem. They stopped near two Arab employees working on a renovation project; an argument erupted between the four and the suspects left the scene.
A short while later, the two returned with another member, the third brother. The Arab workers noticed them and tried to escape – one of them entered a nearby market and hid in the restroom.
Security footage of attack in Jerusalem
The Ofri brothers chased after him, entered the store, opened the bathroom stall and hit him repeatedly with an iron rod and stick. One of them seemed to be holding mace spray. The three then fled the scene of the crime.
The victim asked the store owner to call for the police and said in his testimony that he noticed a gun in the hand of one of the suspects. Based on the preliminary investigation, police believed it was a mace pepper gun.
The victim was lightly wounded, and went to the hospital of his own recognizance after giving his statement to the police.
After an investigation by Jerusalem Police, the three Ofri brothers were arrested. During their interrogation they claimed they were acting in self-defense. One of the brothers admitted to owning a mace pepper gun; police issued a warrant to locate the weapon.
