Man tries to murder wife and commit suicide in Netanya

Couple's 3-year-old daughter witnesses incident; wife, 25, hooked up to life support machine; she previously filed domestic abuse complaint.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
murder crime scene 248.88 (photo credit: Channel 2 (file))
murder crime scene 248.88
(photo credit: Channel 2 (file))
A man shot and seriously injured his wife before turning his gun on himself in a failed murder/suicide attempt in Netanya on Saturday.
The violence took place in the presence of the couple’s three-year-old girl.
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Police broke into the apartment, on Rehov Ha’etzel, after being called to the scene by the man, aged 30.
Paramedics rushed the couple to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, where the woman, 25, was hooked up to a life support machine.
Their daughter was taken into the care of social services.
The husband had worked as a security guard and carried a licensed firearm, police said.
The woman filed a complaint against her husband a year ago for domestic abuse and threats, and then withdrew it.
Despite her “change of heart,” police continued with the investigation, and passed on the case material to state prosecutors, who chose to close the case.
During the investigation, the man’s firearm was confiscated, but authorities returned it when the case was closed by prosecutors. Police said the woman pressed police to return her husband’s gun, saying he was unable to get work as a security guard without it.
Separately, police have arrested the husband of a pregnant woman from Eritrea who was found stabbed to death in a south Tel Aviv apartment on Friday evening.
The main suspect in the homicide, her husband, was arrested in Rehovot by Tel Aviv police detectives following a manhunt on Saturday.
The victim has been named as Abba Kitna, 28.
Her brother called police after he was unable to get in touch with her.