Border guard wounded in attack dies

Policeman hurt in shooting next to Jerusalem's Old City two weeks ago succumbs to his wounds.

lions gate police 224 88 (photo credit: AP)
lions gate police 224 88
(photo credit: AP)
A 19-year-old border policeman who was shot near the Lions' Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on July 11 died of his wounds on Wednesday. Officer David Chriqui of Rishon Lezion was shot in the head at close range by a man thought to be a Palestinian. Jerusalem police officer Imad Gadir from Kafr Zarzir in the Western Galilee has recovered from his wounds. Chriqui never regained consciousness, and his condition quickly deteriorated despite an emergency operation on his arrival at Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem. Jerusalem police continue their hunt for the assailant. A court gag order issued at the behest of police prohibits reporting on the investigation's progress. According to the initial police investigation, the gunman, who carried out the attack under the cover of darkness, apparently took advantage of a moment when the officers turned their back on a nearby Muslim cemetery to take a drink of water; the attacker came from and fled to the cemetery, apparently unharmed by police fire. The attack was caught by police closed circuit TV, but the assailant's face was blurred by the darkness.