An eight-year-old boy was shot dead at a wedding that took place in the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, near Beersheba, Israeli media reported on Friday.
The murdered victim's name was Yosef Abu Rakaik, according to KAN. The background behind the incident that led to his murder is part of a conflict between families in the area, reports said.
In addition to Rakaik, six additional people were evacuated from the wedding to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, reports said, with one other person besides Rakaik, a 20-year-old, in serious condition. The other five arrived for medical treatment in light condition. Rakaik was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene.
Police stated that they have begun an investigation into the incident, and stated that personnel from the Southern District are operating in the Bedouin town and its surrounding areas to locate the suspect of the attack.
From the police's investigation, they concluded that members of the Al-A'sam family arrived at a wedding where the Rakaik family was in attendance, where one suspect got out of his car and fired more than 80 bullets at other vehicles at the event, according to KAN.
No sign of change in tackling murder rate in Israeli Arab society
The incident in Tel Sheva comes only a few days after an Israeli Arab woman, Sahar Abu Hajaj, 48, was murdered in Lod. Hajaj's murder, before the incident on Friday, had brought the Israeli Arab murder death toll to 88 since the beginning of the year. Of the 88, five of them are women, including Hajaj, according to the Abraham Initiatives.
A February report from the Taub Center concluded that the murder rate in this society had risen to the third worst in the developed world.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Yuval Barnea contributed to this report.