Terrorist attempts stabbing near light rail in Jerusalem
A 15-year-old girl and 29-year-old male student attempting to flee the scene were lightly injured.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDUpdated: JANUARY 5, 2016 01:47Scene of stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Bar Lev street, January 4th, 2016
A 16-year-old Palestinian terrorist was shot in the leg by police in Jerusalem Monday evening after attempting to stab a female teenager and a man near the light rail tracks off the city’s well-traveled Bar Lev Street.Police said the unidentified assailant from east Jerusalem was spotted by officers stationed in the area at approximately 5:30 p.m. behaving suspiciously while wandering near the tracks between the Shivtei Israel and Ammunition Hill light-rail stops.“Police units immediately began tracking the suspect, and when officers closed in to question him, he pulled a knife from his pocket, at which time he was shot in the leg,” said spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.A 15-year-old girl and 29-year-old male student attempting to flee the scene were lightly injured and transferred to Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem after being treated by Magen David Adom paramedics, Rosenfeld said.According to Hadassah spokeswoman Hadar Elboim, neither the girl nor man was stabbed during the attack.“The girl sustained a very light leg injury, possibly after falling while trying to escape, but she was not stabbed,” Elboim said Monday night.“It’s unclear how she sustained the injury, but it is very, very light.”The unidentified male victim, Elboim said, lightly wounded his hand and hip when he fell to ground as he attempted to flee; he was being treated for shock.Meanwhile, Shaare Zedek Medical Center spokeswoman Shoham Ruvio said the Palestinian teen was in stable condition after being shot three times in the leg.“He did not require surgery and is recovering in the orthopedics unit,” Ruvio said.
Rosenfeld said police halted lightrail service for roughly 30 minutes following the attack to secure the scene and gather evidence.He praised the responding officers for their quick actions.“Police units that were in the area responded rapidly after identifying the suspect and prevented innocent people from being attacked,” he said.