A recent murder in the town of Memphis, Tennessee, may have been an act of terror. His brother Rotem thinks it was a “hate crime” but admits there may be more to it. Police aren’t real sure one way or the other, yet. They’re calling it a terror investigation and still digging into it. Another possibility is it’s just another ordinary robbery and slaying but that choice isn’t sitting right with anyone, especially detectives. There are too many loosely related coincidences and too much obvious planning.
Terror and hate in Memphis
Memphis Locksmith and Israeli citizen Aviv Broek was lured to his death in the early morning hours of Friday, November 22. It was clearly a trap. He was executed as soon as he arrived. His tools disappeared but his brother seems convinced he would have handed them over freely, along with any cash he carried. Shooting him four times in the stomach was totally unnecessary.
Those tools would be handy to any burglar but are especially useful to a terrorist on a job. Broek may have been targeted by a local antisemitic minded individual but his brother says they haven’t been bothered by any of those.
Facts are slowly becoming available. Hindustan Times appears to have the most complete coverage.
Memphis police are convinced the 21-year-old Israeli was “lured into a trap.” The victim, they note, “had not struggled.” He apparently didn’t have a chance. His friend and co-worker filled police in on what he knew as soon as he discovered the body.
Aviv received a call to change a lock around 10:30 pm. It wasn’t a normal job. The caller “claimed it was an urgent situation.” The victim’s brother relates that “someone’s mother was stuck in a car.” They “offered to pay him double.” He should have declined. Or agreed and given the cops a call for backup.
“They lured him into a trap, bringing him to an abandoned house.” Memphis police later determined “when he got out of the car in an isolated alley, he was robbed and shot four times in the stomach.” Not necessarily in that order.
Tracked his phone
When Broek didn’t check in after his job, friends started to get nervous. About two hours after the shooting, they got his co-worker to use their company phone tracking app to locate him. On arrival, “they found him lying on the floor and immediately called the police.” Soon after, “the app stopped working, we started to suspect something was up.”
The Memphis Police Department is not investigating the murder as a hate crime at present. Instead, as Israeli media is reporting, “the death was being investigated by local police as a suspected terror attack.”
Broek’s brother, Rotem, notes “there is no ‘antisemitism‘ in Memphis.” At least, not generally. “We don’t know if that is the background to the case, but in my opinion it is.” The police aren’t so sure.
“There has been no arrests in this case. This is an active investigation and there is no indication at this time of a hate crime,” the department’s public information office said in a statement.
The locksmith tools which vanished from the scene weren’t just worth “thousands of dollars,” they’re hard to come by. Not just anyone can buy them. His cash and passport were also taken.
“He was a man of peace, someone who loved life and new experiences. He was brave and never afraid of anything. This tragedy shocked us,” Rotem laments. Memphis wasn’t supposed to be a war zone. “We thought it was safer there than in Israel. Aviv always told us he took care of himself and avoided dangerous places.“
