Victim evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital with knife still lodged in neck; attacker identified as 19-year-old East Jerusalem resident

Police on the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 8, 2015. (screen capture: Channel 2)
Police on the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 8, 2015. (screen capture: Channel 2)

 

A Jerusalem yeshiva student, 25, was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack in northern Jerusalem.

A second Israeli, apparently a light rail security guard, was very lightly hurt after wrestling with the attacker in an attempt to prevent him from fleeing the scene.

Police said the attacker, a 19-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, was “neutralized” within minutes. He was unharmed and was being questioned by police. Initial reports, corrected by police, had said he was 15.

The terror attack took place just after noon at the light rail stop near the Israel Police’s national headquarters close to Ammunition Hill.

Police at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on October 8, 2015. A Palestinian stabbed and wounded two Israeli Jews, one of whom was hospitalized in serious condition. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
Police at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on October 8, 2015. A Palestinian stabbed and wounded two Israeli Jews, one of whom was hospitalized in serious condition. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

 

The victim, an Israeli citizen, was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem with the knife still lodged in his neck. Doctors rushed him into emergency surgery. Later the hospital said he was in stable condition.

The road, Haim Bar Lev Boulevard, was closed to traffic in both directions. Light rail service was suspended in the area, but service resumed after 1 p.m.

Medics and police at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 8, 2015 (Magen David Adom)
Medics and police at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 8, 2015 (Magen David Adom)

 

Nachman Ravivo, a Magen David Adom volunteer, was the first medic to reach the victim. “He was stabbed in the neck. He was evacuated in serious condition to the trauma unit at Shaare Zedek. He was fully conscious and communicated” with the rescue team, Ravivo told Channel 2 in the minutes after the attack.

Police and medics at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 8, 2015 (screen capture: Channel 2)
Police and medics at the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 8, 2015 (screen capture: Channel 2)

Police canine units searched the sides of the road after eyewitnesses said the attacker may have thrown something into roadside shrubs.

Mayor Nir Barkat was at the scene with Jerusalem Police chief Moshe Edri.

After the stabbing, the attacker reportedly attempted but failed to steal the gun from a light rail security guard. After an altercation with the guard, the attacker fled the scene, but was pursued and caught by police motorcyclists.

The previous day saw at least six major terror attacks nationwide with wounded or dead victims amid an escalating wave of violence.

 

 

As reported by The Times of Israel