Alleged Israeli Serial Killer Arrested in Atlanta

These last few years have been good to Israelis trying to make it in the States, from the first Israeli player in the NBA to the first Israeli model on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Today, we can most likely add another to this list of firsts: The first Israeli serial killer to do his deeds stateside.

Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested Abd el Azam, an Arab Israeli citizen, as he was boarding a Tel-Aviv-bound Delta flight in Atlanta. He was later handed over to the FBI. El Azam is suspected of stabbing twenty victims in four states, killing at least five people and earning the moniker the Flint Slasher after the Michigan town where he reportedly began his violent spree.

Local authorities connected with the case suspect that the motive for the crimes was good ol’ fashioned racism—all of his victims were black or Hispanic. “I believe [the killer’s] motivation was pure hatred,” said Joseph Price, chief of police in Leesburg, Virginia.