Man armed with handsaw attacks cops, seniors in Haifa
One man in 80s seriously injured in rampage by mentally ill assailant near hospital
A 30-year-old man brandishing a handsaw attacked four people during a rampage in the city of Haifa on Monday, seriously injuring an elderly man.
The attacks began as the suspect assaulted two police officers outside of a Haifa hospital who were called to investigate reports of a man acting strangely and trying to enter the premises of Bnei Zion medical center.
When officers arrived at the scene, the man began attacking them with his saw. One of the cops then fired in the air, causing the suspect to flee.
The officers sustained cuts to the faces, but their injuries were designated as minor.
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The assailant proceeded to his apartment building nearby, breaking into an apartment below his and attacking an elderly couple in their 80s. The husband sustained blows to the head and was taken to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center in serious condition.
His wife’s injuries were designated as minor, but she was taken to Bnei Zion for further treatment.
The assailant then barricaded himself inside the couple’s apartment for over two hours, requiring the mobilization of special forces who broke through a window and apprehended the suspect.
Police said the attacker was mentally unstable and that the incident was not terror-related.
The female victim along with the two police officers were released from Bnei Zion later Monday.
While police were still working to apprehend the suspect, Channel 13 digital marketing manager Carmel Kamin tweeted that the elderly couple were her grandparents and that they had submitted repeated complaints to the authorities for over a year regarding the assailant’s conduct, but nothing was done.
“This disturbed man caused my grandfather to be sedated and in intensive care. A shocking state of police helplessness,” she wrote.
The Times of Israel Community.