Boy falls to his death in Alfei Menashe settlement

Caretaker of Tzofei Hasharon junior high school finds body of 14-year-old boy after he fell to his death from school roof.

By JTA
Alfei Menashe (photo credit: Jonathan Schilling)
Alfei Menashe
(photo credit: Jonathan Schilling)
A 14-year-old boy was found after falling to his death in the yard of his school in the Israeli West Bank settlement of Alfei Menashe.
The caretaker of Tzofei Hasharon junior high school found the boy’s body early on Friday morning and called an ambulance, the news site NRG reported.
According to online edition of the Israeli daily Haaretz, police believe the boy committed suicide by plunging to his death from the roof of the four-storey building of his school.
The news site Walla reported that police are looking into the possibility that the boy fell to his death after inhaling an intoxicating gas from an air-conditioning unit on the school’s roof.
Over the past decade, approximately 20 Israeli youths died from inhaling a gas known as Freon -- a toxic compound. Some of the youths were poisoned while others died in accidents while trying to reach air-conditioning units.
The Israel Anti-Drug Authority estimates some 60,000-80,000 youths in Israel inhale Freon every year.