Ofir Chasdai
Ofir ChasdaiCredit: Courtesy of the family

Prosecutors filed a preliminary indictment Sunday against Victor Katan, a 74-year-old Lod resident, suspected of shooting 40-year-old Ofir Hasdai to death in the Azrieli Mall parking lot in Ramle two weeks ago.

Shortly after the incident, Israel Police were notified and arrived on the scene. They saw a man bleeding as he lay on the floor and began performing CPR on him until medical teams arrived. At the same time, the cops spotted Katan and his wife standing nearby and arrested the suspect for questioning.

The investigation revealed that while Katan and his 68-year-old wife were parking their car, Hasdai drove up in his car, and criticized Katan's wife that their car was taking up two parking spaces. The woman responded to Hasdai and a physical confrontation began between them. It is suspected that Katan drew his gun in response to the confrontation and fired at Hasdai, fatally wounding him. Hasdai was evacuated to Assaf Harofeh hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect's arrest was extended several times and on Sunday the court extended his detention for another four days in order to indict him.