A woman has been arrested on suspicion of killing her 6-year-old son and a dog with an axe before heading to a shopping centre in Herzliya where she attacked a security guard.
Israeli media has reported that the child’s body was discovered in an apartment by the suspect’s mother, who heard that her daughter had been arrested at the shopping centre and ran to the apartment, where she found her grandson’s body.
A dog was reportedly also found dead at the scene with stab wounds.
A large number of Israeli police were called to the site of the suspected infanticide at the suspect’s home in Herzliya on Tuesday evening.
In graphic videos shared on social media, a barefoot woman with blood dripping down her legs can be seen walking to a shopping centre while holding an axe and grinning.
The suspect was filmed sitting crosslegged inside the shopping centre (Photo: X/Twitter)
As she nears the entrance of Seven Stars shopping centre, the woman begins to strip off her clothing and laughs. She walks towards a security guard and attacks him with the axe, but he forces the weapon off her and manages to call for backup.
Another video circulating on social media shows the woman sitting cross-legged and meditating at the entrance to the shopping centre, while a separate clip shows the suspect attempting to attack a passerby on her way to the shop.
Reports suggest that police quickly arrived at the scene where they arrested the woman, who has been identified as a 33-year-old mother from Herzliya. The security guard suffered light wounds, police said.
Neighbours told Hebrew newspaper, Maariv, that "this woman is the last person you would expect to do something like this" and described her as "very kind."
On Wednesday, Maariv reported that the suspect and her partner had a history of domestic violence.
Herzilya Mayor Yariv Fisher said, "At this very moment, municipal police forces and social worker teams from the municipality are on the scene, in order to assist the police forces and support the residents of the neighbourhood."
