'Sick massacre:' Three family members are butchered in Nazareth murder-suicide

Shooter hits four family members before ending his life in Nazareth on Wednesday morning, Maariv reported 

The murderous rampage of three members of the Rashid family in Nazareth by family member Mohammed Rashid, residing in Iksal, stems from an internal family conflict whose purpose has yet to be clarified. In addition, on Wednesday morning, the death of another individual was confirmed: the brother of the murderer's neighbor.

Northern District Commander Shuki Tachuka, after evaluating the situation at the scene, ordered the investigation to be handed over to the Lahav Yiftach Crime Fighting Unit, which will wait for the injured to recuperate before questioning them to understand the tragic sequence of events that led to the outburst of anger in which Rashid allegedly shot his sister's husband - his brother-in-law - and one of his cousins. His mother and sister were also shot and injured in the same incident.

Immediately after the incident, the suspect left the house and shot himself. Police investigators who arrived at the scene collected the gun used to commit the incident. The police are viewing this incident as an internal family disagreement that escalated into the "massacre" on the last day of Ramadan rather than the activity of a criminal family, according to Maariv's report.

Sources familiar with the incident told Maariv: "Rashid burst into the family's home, apparently in the midst of the holiday, and simply sprayed everyone without discriminating. It was an extremely difficult scene. Huge pools of blood, he emptied an entire magazine, minus one bullet, which he used to end his life. He did not check who would live and who would die. He just wanted to harm everyone. He left the house and shot himself. It's pathological madness, it's insanity, it's an outburst of anger, but only later will the mother and daughter be able to provide explanations."

Police response

"A short while ago, we received a report of several gunshots in Nazareth. Initial investigation suggests that a male suspect shot a gun in the direction of his family members and ended his life shortly after," a police spokesperson reported on Wednesday.

Police sources clarified: "This is not another event of criminal organizations, but in the end, it is a family conflict that ends in such a tragic way."

The police further reported that as a result of the shooting, the death of three individuals was confirmed, one of which was the shooter, and two more were evacuated in critical condition to receive medical treatment. 

It should be noted that following the incident, the number of murder victims in the Arab sector rose to 43, with one additional suicide.

Separate from this incident; a bomb exploded at a cemetery in Haifa on Wednesday, the police reported. Initial investigation suggests that this incident stems from a feud between two rival criminal families. The five family members caught in the explosion were taken to Rambam Hospital in the city, with the mother (43 years old) suffering medium to severe injuries.