Motorcycle rider opens fire on car in Ashkelon in apparent criminal hit

Two people suffer moderate injuries in attack; assailant remains at large after fleeing scene, likely with help of getaway car.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
crime scene (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [illustrative])
crime scene
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [illustrative])
An unknown assailant driving a motorcycle opened fire at a vehicle in Ashkelon on Tuesday, injuring three people in what police believe may have been an attempted criminal hit.
Two people suffered moderate injuries while a third person was lightly hurt in the attack which occurred at the Givati Junction in the center of the city. The wounded men admitted themselves for treatment at Barzilai Medical Center in the city.
Police gave chase after the suspect who fled the scene, but were unable to locate him. It is believed that he entered  an additional vehicle waiting near the scene of the shooting and escaped.
Police set up roadblocks in the area and deployed a helicopter in hopes of finding the suspect.
The attack appeared to be similar to a drive-by shooting in Petah Tikva last week in which two men were killed and a third was seriously wounded.
Officers confirmed that one of the dead men, Eli Orkabi, 35, from Petah Tikva, had been the subject of investigations in the past. The other man slain was Eran Fartush, 42; and the wounded man was his partner in a local contracting firm.
No arrests were made in the Petah Tikva shooting, which occurred meters away from a kindergarten.Ben Hartman contributed to this report.