An IDF soldier who recklessly and accidentally shot and killed co-soldier Yonatan Granot on February 23 was indicted on Wednesday in the Southern Military Court District for second degree murder.
According to the charges, the soldier, whose name is under gag order, aimed his Ruger gun playfully at an area where Granot was walking and unintentionally shot him, apparently not realizing that his actions would lead to actually firing a bullet.
The defendant-soldier had not yet completed training for the weapon and was not cleared for using it, said the indictment.
Granot was hit in the head at a distance of 60 m., and though he was initially kept alive at Hadassah-University Medical Center, he succumbed to his wounds on February 25.
The IDF prosecution has requested to maintain the defendant in military police custody until the end of the trial.
Second degree murder charges usually come into play when a defendant recklessly undertook a deadly activity which increased the likelihood of someone dying, but where they did not have a specific intent to kill anyone.
Granot’s Nahal Brigade platoon had recently returned from practicing on the firing range when the incident occurred.
The IDF said that it shared in the sorrow of Granot’s family.