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A 27-year-old Arab Israeli woman was shot dead in her apartment in the northern city of Haifa on Wednesday in front of the victim's children.
According to the police, an anonymous suspect entered Meisar Othman's apartment on Gush Etzion Street and shot her in the head before fleeing the scene. She lived in the apartment with her two children having divorced her husband.
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Street where the victim's apartment is located and a profile image she uploaded to social media a day before murder, calling to protect women
The woman's neighbors called the police after hearing screams coming out from the apartment.
Police opened an investigation into the suspected murder immediately after receiving the emergency call about the deadly shooting. The main direction of the investigation appears to be domestic violence.
Local residents said those who have seen the suspect are unlikely to come forward with the information. "People who saw him are afraid to speak. Everyone is silent," said one local resident.
"We are shocked by what happened, she was everyone's friend," said one of the neighbors. "She was a very good woman, charming, very nice, has lived here for years. Her mother also lives here."
Two of Meiser's children were at home at the time of the suspected murder and one of the neighbors took care of them until the arrival of social services.
The police said the victim did not make any previous complaints about domestic abuse to law enforcement services either about her ex-husband or about her current boyfriend.
Magen David Adom paramedic Ahmad Tuafshi, who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said the medical team had to pronounce her death on the spot.
"When we arrived at the scene, we entered the apartment with police forces. We saw an unconscious woman with a penetrating wound to her body. She did not have a pulse and wasn't breathing."
The Welfare Ministry has opened a hotline for victims of domestic abuse: 118 or 077-9208560. The call center operates 24 hours a day and provides service in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and Amharic.