Police shoot dead mentally ill Arab man, say he charged at cops with knife

Police shot and killed a 33-year-old Arab man with mental illness in central Haifa early this afternoon, police say.

According to a police spokesperson, the man — whose name has not yet been released to the public — was running around with a knife. His mother called the police to the scene for help, according to the spokesperson.

“Some officers arrived on the scene, saw him next to his house on the ground floor. He drew a knife and ran after an officer with it, hurting him lightly on his face,” a Haifa police spokesperson says.

An officer fired on the man, critically wounding him. He was taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he died of his injuries.

הירי בחיפה: תיעוד מזירת האירוע
(אורלי אלקלעי)
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“The officer felt that he was in immediate, life-threatening danger,” the Haifa spokesperson argues.

The Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department has opened an investigation into the shooting.

According to the Abraham Initiatives nonprofit, 28 Arabs have been killed violently inside Israel since the beginning of 2021. Six were killed by police, while 22 were killed as a result of criminal activity.