A 17-year-old has been arrested at Memphis, Tennessee for his alleged involvement in the murder of a British–Israeli man on November 22. The man’s family had asked the U.K. and American governments to investigate the incident for possible hate crimes against Jews. 

The man who was killed, Aviv Broek, was living and working as a locksmith in Memphis at the time of his murder. On Thursday, the Memphis police department announced that they had arrested a suspect for robbing and killing Broek. 

“A 17-year-old juvenile was charged with First Degree Murder in Perpetration of a Robbery and Especially Aggravated Robbery,” the Memphis police department wrote on X. 

No other details were released about the suspect. 

According to a friend who spoke with Ynet News, Broek was called late on the night of November 22 to change a lock at someone’s home. 

“On Thursday evening, around 10:30 p.m., Aviv received a call to change a lock,” Broek’s friend and co-worker, who identified himself only as Ilai, told Ynet. “When he got out of the car in an isolated alley, he was robbed and shot four times in the stomach. According to the police, he did not resist or struggle, yet they shot and killed him.”

His Israeli passport was also taken from him. 

Broek’s father, Steven Broek, told FOX 13 that his son loved to travel America and enjoyed living in Tennessee. “He traveled a lot around Los Angeles,” the father said. “He was in a lot of areas. Every day, we used to speak. Every day. He was in a different place, and we talked about the places he visited.”

After his murder, Broek’s family said in a statement that his murder could be part of a global intifada as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. 

“We are shocked and saddened at the murder of Aviv while he was in the United States. The police have so far provided us very little information. We would like to have a civil rights investigation,” Broek’s family said in a statement to the Jewish Chronicle.

“We have all heard calls to globalize the intifada and now we ask has this intifada come to Tennessee in America? Are Zionists safe in America?” the Broek family said. 

But so far, there’s no evidence that Broek was targeted for being Israeli or Jewish.  According to FBI data released in 2024, Memphis is one of the most dangerous cities in America for gun violence and major crimes. The city has the highest homicide rate per capita of any major metro area in America, and — as of November 2024 — has the fourth-highest number of total murders, falling behind only Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston. This despite being a far smaller city. Also in Memphis, the rate of so called stranger murders, where someone is killed by someone they don’t know is high. In 50 percent of Memphis murders, there was no known relationship between victim and killer.

Summoning a locksmith, who by nature of his or her profession can work in the middle of the night, is an easy way to rob someone.