A serious shooting incident occurred Sunday afternoon in Rishon LeZion, where a 13-year-old boy was critically wounded after being unintentionally shot by friends.
Magen David Adom paramedics arriving at the scene found the boy unconscious, pulseless, and not breathing, with a penetrating gunshot wound. He was evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center while undergoing resuscitation efforts.
Police arrested two teenagers at the scene on suspicion of mishandling a firearm belonging to one of their parents, which led to the critical shooting of their friend.
Senior MDA paramedic Shamil Bacher stated, "We found the child unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, with a penetrating injury to his body. We immediately began resuscitation and transported him urgently to the hospital while continuing life-saving efforts."
The victim, identified as 14-year-old Uri Portal, succumbed to his injuries, it was cleared for publication Tuesday.
Initially, the teens claimed that gunfire had come from a passing vehicle. However, two of the boys, aged 13 and 16, were detained and later admitted, "We came to experiment with a firearm." A licensed pistol belonging to the father of one of the boys was discovered at the scene.
The 16-year-old confessed to taking the weapon from his father's safe and told investigators, "It was a foolish act. I didn’t think it through when I took the gun. Had I known it would end like this, I wouldn’t have done it."
The 13-year-old, who was holding the gun at the time of the shooting, struggled to cooperate during questioning and appeared to be in shock and trauma.
Authorities are expected to file indictments against both teens, though due to their young age, they are not likely to receive prison sentences and will instead be referred to a rehabilitative process.