The Department of Internal Police Investigations this week announced that it is probing the killing of a Palestinian man who worked for the Jerusalem municipal sanitation department, after he was shot dead by security forces at a checkpoint.

The deceased, 50-year-old Khalil a-Rishq, was shot twice in the legs and once in the groin on Thursday night by a Border Police officer and private security guard at the Shuafat checkpoint in East Jerusalem.

Police said that officers shot at Rishq after he approached on foot a checkpoint meant for vehicles and refused to heed their calls to halt, saying that a Palestinian suspect “was shot in the leg,” and adding: “There are no injuries to our forces.”

According to the DIPI, a Justice Ministry unit that investigates police officers on criminal suspicions, Rishq bled to death at the checkpoint. It was unclear how long it took for medics to arrive after he was shot, but witnesses said he was left bleeding out at the scene for an “extended period of time” before receiving medical assistance.

While the DIPI told The Times of Israel that it is probing the incident, the investigation will not include an autopsy, Channel 13  reported Wednesday. The report did not detail why investigators were forgoing the procedure.

The decision to forgo an autopsy would seriously hamper investigators’ ability to confirm police claims that the officer and security guard shot Rishq while he was moving toward them, the report said.

סוף עצוב ומטורף לחליל: חליל אל ראשק, עובד התברואה שחשפנו איך בני נוער הרביצו לו רק כדי להעלות לסטורי בטרנד מכות לפלסטינים, נורה למוות על ידי לוחם משמר הגבול בחמישי האחרון ועל ידי מאבטח אזרחי במחסום מחנה הפליטים שועפט. לפי העדויות של הלוחמים , הוא לא נענה לקריאות לעצור ואז ביצעו…........

© The Times of Israel