Man stabs woman in broad daylight, reason unknown

A man stabbed a young woman with a screwdriver in broad daylight in the central city of Ramle on Sunday, moderately injuring her, police reported.

The attacker attempted to flee the scene but was shot in the leg by police, according to an official. He was taken to the hospital in moderate to severe condition.

The motive for the attack was unclear, though investigators believed it was likely criminal in nature and not politically motivated, the Ynet news website reported.

“We heard her screaming and then I saw she had a screwdriver in her back. The man started running away. One cop who saw him chased after him, then we heard shots, and he was arrested,” a witness said.

Aryeh Meyers, the paramedic who treated the woman on the scene, described the victim as approximately 22 years old. “She was in pain, and had trouble breathing,” he said. “On the way [to the hospital] she told us that as she was walking on the street she felt a strong blow to her back.”

The attack drew a large number of police officers to the scene on Ramle’s Herzl Boulevard, a main thoroughfare. Once police came around to the belief that the attack was criminal and not linked to terror, however, most of the forces on the scene dispersed, Ynet news reported.

Two men were found dead Saturday night inside a vehicle in the Muslim cemetery in Ramle, near Tel Aviv. The victims, who had sustained gunshot wounds to the upper body, were declared dead by an emergency medical team called to the scene.

The two, residents of nearby Lod, may have been involved in a feud with a family from Ramle.

Police suspect the shooting was an act of revenge for a killing that took place several months ago, Ynet reported.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.