Jerusalem cabbie shot after trying to run over Police officer

Border Guard officer lightly injured after Arab taxi driver attempts to run him over; driver mildly wounded from gunfire.

Police say attempted murder was nationalistically motivated

Noam (Dabul) Dvir

 

An Arab taxi driver was shot in the leg Sunday after apparently trying to run over a Border Guard officer.

Border Guard Policemen in Jerusalem – Photo: Reuters

Both men are in mild condition. The officer was treated on site and the driver was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

The police are investigating the incident as a nationalistically motivated attack.

According to available details, the driver, a 39-year-old man from the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood in southeast Jerusalem, arrived at an east Jerusalem police station and rammed into a delivery van trying to exit the compound.

A Border Guard officer stationed at the entrance approached the car to talk to the driver, when the latter backed up and tried to run him over.

The officer was thrown against a concrete post, luckily sustaining only mild injuries.

Three police officers witnessed the event and opened fire, hitting the cab and lightly injuring the driver.

The suspect, who is known to the police, reportedly said “I lost it. I wanted to drive through the station.”

The police said that recent weeks have seen a spike in attempted terror attacks in Jerusalem, including stoning and stabbing attempts against police officers.

 

Itamar Fleishman contributed to this report.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4323303,00.html