Suspect in Double Homicide Committed Suicide, Was Not Shot by Israeli Top Cop

The fatal gunshot that killed the suspect in Wednesday's double murder in Rishon Letzion was self-inflicted, not fired by a top officer during a police chase as initially announced by the police, pathologists say.

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Police believe Yan Gabrielov, suspected of shooting his ex-girlfriend Anastasia Rusanov and her lover dead, decided to kill himself once realizing that the police was on to him and that he could not escape.

At about 6:30 P.M. Saturday, undercover police officers spotted Gabrielov driving in the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv. When he noticed that he was being followed, he began driving recklessly in an effort to evade them, the Israel Police said. He refused to comply with orders to stop and was endangering others in the area, driving on the wrong side of the road, police said. Additional forces were called in and he was ultimately shot to death by Central District Police Maj. Gen. Moti Cohen.

In Wednesday's double homicide, Rusanov and her boyfriend, Kandinov were found dead at Rusanov's Rishon Letzion apartment, south of Tel Aviv. On the Sunday before the killings, Rusanov filed a report with the police, telling them that Gabrielov had been threatening her. The suspect reportedly also sent Rusanov a text message while she was at the police station informing her that he knew where she was and telling her to leave the station.

Police then referred her to a women's shelter for victims of domestic violence but she decided to leave the shelter within a matter of hours and returned to her apartment in Rishon Letzion.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan praised the police for stopping Gabrielov. "Quietly, professionally and risking their own lives, the police and commanders reached him and prevented additional harm to innocent people."