The Memphis Police Department (MPD) is currently investigating the shooting death of 21-year-old Aviv Broek, an Israeli citizen working as a locksmith in South Memphis. According to FOX13 Memphis, Broek, who had only been in Memphis for two months, was called out to a job under pretenses and was subsequently shot and robbed at the scene past 1:15 a.m. last Friday, officials concluded a medical glove was found at the location, along with crime scene tape encircling the area.
According to a family friend, Ronn Torossian, Broek had been lured to an abandoned building and killed while on duty. His passport was also reportedly stolen, and although the family is pressing for it, current evidence has not led MPD to categorize this as a hate crime.
The Executive Director of Betar, Ross Glick, has been in contact with Broek's family, who believes their son was targeted because of his Israeli nationality, despite the Memphis police stating there is no current evidence to support claims of a hate crime being the motive behind Broek's death. Glick denounced the rapid dismissals by local police departments, stating, "We're tired of this immediate determination by local police departments that it's not a hate crime, yet they won't release any details or specify why they believe that when we are seeing an increasing pattern," Ross Flick stated, as per Knoxville Daily Sun.
