Border policeman hurt as car rams through checkpoint

A Border Police officer was seriously hurt Saturday morning after two vehicles rammed through a checkpoint near Jerusalem.

The first vehicle, which was reported stolen, approached the Mazmuria checkpoint near the Har Homa neighborhood of southern Jerusalem and the officer ordered it to halt. The driver refused to stop and the officer fired in the air.

A truck behind the car swerved out of its lane toward the officer and a private security guard fired at its wheels.

The officer was apparently injured in the back by a ricochet. He was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment.

Both vehicles broke through the checkpoint and fled the scene into the West Bank toward Bethlehem. Israeli security forces were searching the area and launched an investigation into the incident.

Police suspect the incident was criminal in nature, rather than terrorism. It wasn’t clear there was any connection between the two vehicles.