Kotel shooter suspected of murder

The security guard who shot dead Doron Ben-Shlush, 46, near the Western Wall in Jerusalem was silent in his interrogation and refused to give his own version of events - so was revealed in his remand hearing on Friday in the city's Magistrate's Court.

The man is suspected of murder, and the judge remanded him until Tuesday. 

His Lawyer said in court that his client is "a new security guard, who doesn't know everyone." But the judge insisted on the seriousness of the event which "culminated in the death of a man."

The incident occurred at around 7:40 am as hundreds of worshippers prayed at the Western Wall Plaza. Aside from the man who was shot, no one else was hurt.

Magen David Adom forces were rushed to the scene but were forced to pronounce the man dead after trying unsuccessfully to resuscitate him for 20 minutes.

The suspect's lawyer said in court that his client served with distinction in the IDF. According to him, "he is the salt of the earth, and was a candidate for a sensitive position."

The police representative confirmed in the hearing that the security guard has no prior criminal records, and added that several other security guards were at the scene when the event transpired.

Regarding the victim, the police representative said they are unaware of anything unusual in his background.

Fellow residents from the suspect's town voiced their surprise with their neighbor's involvement in the affair. "He is a wonderful man, that no one can comprehend what happened and what made him shoot," an acquaintance of the suspect told Ynet.

"He has good relations with anyone who knows him and we've never heard anything bad about him, nothing but good stories."

A Resident of the Old City in Jerusalem who knew the victim, Doron Ben Shlush, originally from Hadera, said: "The security guard should have first shot in the air, even if the guy was crazy he should have shot his foot, not straight at the chest.

"He made a mistake by shooting him with so many bullets, I don't understand why he shot him with 10 bullets.

"He doesn't do anything. Why didn't the security guard stop after one bullet? I'm so sorry for him."

Another person who knew the victim said he was homeless and slept in the street.

"He had a bag with clothes and a mattress on which he slept and that was his home. Despite that, he was a cleanly and orderly person," said the man.

Victim's family

"Wed don't understand why he didn't shoot his legs, why did he shoot his body? Why did he shoot him with 10 bullets?" Eleonora, Ben-Shlush's daughter, and his former wife Annie Lor Rekry wondered.

Rekry said she met Ben-Shlush in France, where they were married, and where their daughter Eleonora was born.

"He was an Israeli who visited France regularly, and we worked there in rebuilding defunct companies. Doron was a good guy, who liked helping others," she said.

According to her, though they divorced later on, they kept meeting often and she and their daughter immigrated to Israel.

"Though we were separated, we shared a great love. Doron was a well known figure in Jerusalem, and especially in the Kotel. Every time we met in Jerusalem we went to the Kotel and we never had to go through a security check, since everyone knew him, even the guards."

She added: "Doron resided in the Chabad House and always preached that everyone should live in peace, even Jews and Arabs, and there mustn't be war.

"Most importantly – he preached that everyone is human and shouldn't harm one another."

His daughter said that since she found out of her father's death, she hasn't stopped crying. "I was in good relations with him, I visited him in Jerusalem. A month ago we talked and he said everything is fine. He promised to visit me. We can't believe it, it's really hard."

Other than his daughter, Ben-Shlush is survived by a brother and two sisters, two of them live in France and one in Beersheba. His mother resides in Hadera.