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Last update - 21:11 29/07/2008 'My children watched their mother die in shooting' By Roni Singer-Heruti and Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: Israeli underworld, Bat Yam  The husband of Margarita Lautin, who was killed in a shooting on a Bat Yam beach Monday, described the moments before his wife's death, saying that his two children were forced to watch their mother as she was dying. Lautin was shot and killed when she was caught in the middle of an apparent assassination attempt on a reputed criminal who was sitting nearby at a beachside restaurant in Bat Yam. In an interview with Army Radio, Alexander Lautin said "at first we thought it was a terror attack. Then I saw a man running with a drawn Uzi and a helmet on his head and I realized he was not a terrorist. I dug a hole in the sand and told my daughter to hide. I ran with the baby in the other direction and told my wife to hide too. Someone tried to grab the gun away from the shooter and then my wife yelled 'I'm hit' and her hands were covered in blood and she fell into my arms. I screamed for help and people stood there, shocked, they didn't even approach us at first." Advertisement Later, my daughter asked me what happened," he continued, "and I said 'we don't have a mother anymore.' She fell into my arms and our daughter ran to us and both children watched their mother die." "Someone came along, shot her and destroyed a family ... whoever did that should pay, just like my wife paid," Alexander said. The 31-year-old victim was dining with a group of friends and family when a motorcyclist opened fire at them Monday evening. The woman and her relatives were seated next to a group of people known to have criminal records, one of whom was apparently the intended target of the shooting. Police arrested four people suspected of involvement in the shooting, including the attacker and one of his apparent targets, who was also slightly wounded during the shooting. Police on Tuesday extended the remand of two suspects in the case, Ronen Ben-Adi and Shimon Sabah, for another ten days. The incident occurred at around 6 P.M. Monday. Lautin sustained critical gunshot wounds to the chest and was evacuated to Wolfson Hospital after resuscitation efforts on the beach had failed. The investigation was handed over to detectives from the Police's International Crime Squad, which handles investigations into the criminal figures involved in the incident, who apparently belong to the Abergil family crime organization. The suspects were arrested by members of the International Crime Squad who were in the area at the time of the shooting but police spokesmen denied they were there staking out the suspects who then opened fire. The initial investigation indicates that several known crime figures were sitting on a lawn close to the beach at about 6 P.M. when a group of suspects approached them and opened fire. Witnesses recounted that the criminals began chasing their attackers, who then fled. The suspects continued shooting as they ran, hitting Lautin, an innocent bystander. In the ensuing chaos, the suspects got away. However, crime squad detectives combing Bat Yam found them shortly thereafter The Lautins had come to Bat Yam's Tobago Beach with bathing suits, towels, flotation devices and shovels and pails for five-year-old Sapir and two-year-old Guy. At about 6 P.M., they asked a passerby to photograph them lying together in the sand. "Twenty minutes later, our family was destroyed," Alexander said in the hospital's lobby Monday night, gazing at the photos still in his camera. An eyewitness said that many shots had been fired. "I was in my hotel room playing guitar, and suddenly I heard shots. I went to the window and saw lots of people running from the beach," said Michael, a young Israeli staying in a nearby hotel. "The firing went on for several seconds," he said. An employee of a nearby banquet hall said, "It's crazy. It is scary to be here and to walk around with children. We heard a number of gunshots and then saw people fleeing in panic." Related articles: Three people killed, one person hurt in Ramle shooting spree Police investigate drive-by shooting death of man in Taibeh Kalansua man shoots dead one, wounds three in brawl Bookmark to del.icio.us   Internal fighting Human rights groups say torture is widespread in Palestinian lockups. Danger looms Pentagon chief Robert Gates warns: War with Iran would be 'disastrous.'   1.   SO SAD THAT THIS FAMILY IS DESTROYED;THAT THE CHILDREN HAD TO 17:18  |  glenna 29/07/08

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