Former soccer star Halfon shot outside TA nightclub

Two brothers, aged 32 and 20, arrested on suspicion of attack.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Felix Halfon in hospital 248.88 (photo credit: Channal 2)
Felix Halfon in hospital 248.88
(photo credit: Channal 2)
Former national soccer team defender and Hapoel Tel Aviv star Felix Halfon was shot and seriously wounded outside a south Tel Aviv nightclub early Friday morning. Police said the shooting took place after Halfon, 37, left the Kuya club. Detectives believe the attackers knew Halfon prior to the incident. Halfon sustained bullet wounds to his stomach and was rushed to the Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital). Channel 2 News broadcast disturbing video images on Friday evening of the scene minutes after the shooting, showing paramedics treating an unconscious Halfon as he lay in pools of blood on the sidewalk, surrounded by onlookers. Police chased two men on a motorcycle located during searches of the area. The suspects - brothers aged 32 and 20 - were captured and arrested on suspicion of being behind the attack. Both deny the allegations. Police on Friday received a court order barring the media from identifying the brothers or publishing their photographs. Halfon's condition stabilized on Friday and he was able to breathe without a ventilator, doctors said, adding that he was in moderate condition. His sporting prowess has been matched by a checkered past of criminal activity. In 2003, he was arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport for smuggling cocaine into the country from Venezuela. Halfon was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison, but served three years because of good behavior. In January 2009 he was sentenced to three months of community service for forging checks. In May, the soccer player was arrested in Holon for sexually harassing a woman.