Israeli police 'reopen' probe into pepper-spray attack on Armenian boy

The Israeli police have reopened their investigation into the pepper-spraying of a nine-year-old Armenian Christian boy, William, in Jerusalem. The incident occurred near the Mamilla neighbourhood on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, while William was riding his bicycle and listening to music through headphones.

A group of men approached him, demanded he remove his headphones, and then sprayed him with pepper spray after hearing him speak English. The attack was captured on security cameras, leading to the initial reopening of the case. However, the police initially closed the investigation despite the footage. Israeli journalist Yossi Eli, who exposed the incident, reported that this was the second attack on William, with his father intervening during the first incident.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.