Suspect
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Gunplay may have caused accidental fatal shooting on IDF base
Military court extends remand of Duvdevan soldier who shot and killed 20-year-old Staff Sgt. Shachar Strug, as prosecutor claims that the accident occurred after they drew their handguns and aimed at each other; investigators discover it was a common phenomenon on the base; 'The suspect loaded his gun and pulled the trigger.'
The Military Court in Jaffa extended Wednesday the remand until next Thursday of an IDF combat soldier who accidentally shot and killed
his friend Shachar Strug last month by an unintentional discharge.
The Duvdevan Unit soldier told investigators after the incident that "it was accident, not gunplay. We practiced drawing a gun in a room on-base, as is common in the unit. He's my best friend and I didn't know it was loaded."
During the court discussion on Wednesday, however, the investigative team claimed that the incident occurred due to incorrect use of his gun.
Suspect (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
On the evening of the incident, 20-year-old Staff Sgt. Strug, from Givatayim, entered the suspect’s room, and the two pointed their guns at each other. According to the latest suspicions, the soldier pulled the trigger and shot a bullet at Strug’s upper body.
Moreover, during the investigation, further suspicions were raised that guns had been habitually and consistently misused in the unit, a matter which is being investigated further by the Military Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
“The need was raised to clarify the incidents in which suspicions were raised of incorrect use of a weapon by other soldiers, which differ in essence from the incident in which the suspect is involved. These incidents are currently being investigated,” the military prosecutor said.
According to evidence given by a soldier to the CID, drawing handguns and pointing them at each other outside a military exercise became the norm in the commando unit among the soldiers, even though it is strictly forbidden.
Shachar Strug
The IDF is currently investigating how unit officers allowed the practice to take place, or how they were unaware of it.
“The suspect pointed his gun at the chest of the deceased, while loading it with a magazine inside and without an anti-fire mechanism,” the military prosecutor added. “The suspect loaded it and pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the deceased’s torso and caused his death.”
The claims, the prosecutor went on, are underpinned by the suspect’s testimony. “The above is based on findings in the area, the suspect’s spontaneous statements after the incident, expert evidence, and to a certain extent, a description by the suspect's of the incident in the course of his investigations.”
The suspect’s defense attorney, Maj. Merav Hershkowitz Yitzhaki, claimed during the court discussion that her client is in serious condition and has been suffering tremendously since the incident.
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
She also said on Tuesday night that the soldier contacted a psychiatric hospital where he wanted to be admitted, but was refused. “The deceased was his best friend and he is agonizing over it. This was a tragic accident,” he said.
“We have still not received the information of the investigation, but any punishment that any court decides on will not compare to the punishment that the soldier will have to carry with him until his last day, which includes feelings of guilt, pain and missing his friend, Shachar,” Yitzhaki continued in an emotional appeal.
“He thinks about Shachar all the time. He said how when he arrived at the unit he didn’t know any songs in Hebrew and all the songs that he learned were songs that Shachar taught him. He will have to live with this pain until his dying days and no punishment will equal this pain.”
