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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Sarkozy farewell ceremony cut as Israeli cop commits suicide |
| 2008-06-24 |
| A border policeman committed suicide Tuesday afternoon in the middle of a farewell ceremony in honor of French President Nicolas Sarkozy at Ben Gurion International Airport. A Magen David Adom paramedic crew unsuccessfully attempted to revive the policeman, who sustained severe injuries from the bullet. "We are carrying out a preliminary investigation at this time," a Border Police spokesman said. "We will release more details after our check and after we speak to the policeman's family," he added. Police spokesman Shlomi Sagi confirmed that the border policeman committed suicide just as Sarkozy was about to board his plane. Another police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, denied reports that there had been an assassination attempt on the French leader. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said that the circumstances of the incident were under investigation. In attendance at the ceremony were Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres and other state dignitaries, Israel Radio reported. Initially, the prime minister's security personnel drew their handguns and rushed Olmert and Peres to bullet-proof cars, while Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy were rushed to the French president's plane. When the incident ended, Olmert and Peres boarded Sarkozy's plane to inform the French president what had transpired and to bid him farewell. It was not immediately clear whether the soldier died from the impact of the fall or from the misfired bullet. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #4 More details... Israel Radio said that the officer who died was about 100m away from the Sarkozy plane as it waited on the runway at Ben Gurion, Israel's largest international airport. Two women soldiers who witnessed the incident fainted and were treated by medics. The policeman apparently fell from a vantage point on a high building, where he had been guarding the event. Reports suggest the policeman shot himself in the head. “This was in no way an assassination attempt,” said Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman. “A border policeman ... committed suicide during the farewell ceremony.” According to Mr Rosenfeld, the guard who shot himself was a paramilitary policeman and had been assigned to a security patrol at the airport. The area police commander, Nissim Mor, said police were investigating the incident to determine if the officer had intended to commit suicide, or if he had accidentally discharged his weapon. “His mission was to secure an area to prevent people from reaching the ceremony,” he said. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-06-24 13:55 |
| #3 Aye, seems weird. But I kind of doubt we'll ever hear the whole story.... |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-06-24 12:35 |
| #2 Misfired bullet? I thought they just said it was a suicide? Something is fishy here, eh? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-06-24 11:50 |
| #1 What the hell?!?! |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-06-24 11:36 |