US teen arrested for killing Israeli Air Force envoy in Washington state

The suspected teenager was driving a stolen car when he struck Major Yonatan Nahon earlier this month near his residence in the state of Washington.

 Major Yonatan Nahon, December 2023. (photo credit: walla!)
Major Yonatan Nahon, December 2023.
(photo credit: walla!)

A 15-year-old teenage boy was arrested last week in Washington state on suspicion of committing a hit-and-run accident in which IDF Maj. Yonatan Nahon, the Air Force envoy to the US, was killed.

According to the local police investigation, it appears that at noon on December 6, 41-year-old Nahon left his home for a run in Redmond, a suburb of Seattle.

At around 2:35 pm, the suspected teenager passed by the area, speeding in a stolen gray Nissan Pathfinder, and lost control of the vehicle, fatally striking Nahon, who was walking on the sidewalk.
The teenager and several passengers got out of the vehicle and fled the scene.

Police are investigating the crime

Redmond police investigators have opened an investigation, and have identified the driver and passengers based on security camera footage, and reports from local eyewitnesses. 

 A County Sheriffs deputy stops traffic as police investigate a campus shooting in Marysville, Washington October 24, 2014. (credit: REUTERS/JASON REDMOND)
A County Sheriffs deputy stops traffic as police investigate a campus shooting in Marysville, Washington October 24, 2014. (credit: REUTERS/JASON REDMOND)

"Community members in the area played a crucial role in helping law enforcement locate the suspects," said Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe.

"Redmond officers and detectives worked diligently to identify and apprehend the suspects in this horrific and senseless incident. It is hoped that the criminal justice system can ensure justice for the victim and to help provide closure for the family."

Nahon, an engineer born in Netanya and a former resident of the city, leaves behind a wife and three children. His body was transferred to Israel, and many accompanied him at his funeral, held at the military cemetery in the Ben Zion neighborhood of Netanya.

The suspected teenager was taken to a detention facility in King County pending the filing of serious charges against him for the death of Nahon.