Police kill East Jerusalem man during botched break-in

A police officer and a volunteer with the police force shot and killed an East Jerusalem resident on Saturday, after catching him during a break-in.

The incident occurred on a main Jerusalem street, where the victim, named as 30-year-old Salah Saymeh, and a female companion, a Jewish Jerusalem resident, were allegedly trying to rob a clothing store. When the police car pulled up, the suspects entered a vehicle and allegedly tried to run over the police officers, who pursued the suspects.

During the course of the chase, the suspect's car hit several other vehicles.

One of the police officers opened fire, killing the man instantly. His companion was apprehended and taken into custody.

Both suspects had previous police records for property theft.

The police internal affairs department has launched an investigation into the incident.

"We received a call at 7 A.M. from concerned citizens who noticed the suspects breaking into a clothing store," said an officer with the Jerusalem District Police. "Police officers arrived at the scene and saw that the two, a man and a woman, had broken into the store, broken the display window with their car, loaded the vehicle with stolen goods and tried to flee. The police officers called out to the suspect to stop, but he didn't stop, and tried to run over the officers."

"The policeman and the volunteer fired at the vehicle," the officer added. "The initial investigation revealed that the suspect was hit at the start of the chase."

The internal affairs investigators will determine during the course of their investigation whether the gunfire was justified in light of the circumstances, or if the officers, through faulty reasoning, tried to kill the suspect rather than firing at the vehicle in order to neutralize the two assailants.

The police issued an official response to the incident, saying that "it appears that the gunfire was justified, and intended to eliminate the threat after the robbers tried to run them over and endangered passers by in the area."