Two cops hurt, one seriously, in terror shooting near Jerusalem Old City
Attack takes place near police station; gunman, who used makeshift ‘Carlo’ submachine gun, is shot dead
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Two officers were wounded, including one seriously, in a shooting attack Thursday night near the Shalem police station on Salah al-Din Street, just outside the Herod’s Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City.
A 21-year-old resident of the north Jerusalem neighborhood of Bet Hanina approached the police station holding a type of makeshift submachine gun known as “Carlo,” which is commonly manufactured in the Palestinian territories.
The gunman fired a number of shots at police officers standing outside the building and then ran away. As he was trying to escape, officers ran after him and killed him on the spot, the police said. The two wounded policemen were immediately taken to a hospital.
A large number of officers were dispatched to the scene of the attack in its aftermath to search the area and verify the possible presence of accomplices, while Jerusalem police chief Doron Turgeman conducted a situation assessment, at the end of which he declared that the incident was terror-related.
The attack came after, on Saturday morning, Palestinian terrorists rampaged through the south of the country, killing over 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, injuring some 3,000, and taking an estimated 200 captives to Gaza.
In response, Israel declared a state of war and launched a vast bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, with the goal of destroying Hamas’s terror infrastructure and eliminating its leadership.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said 1,300 in the Palestinian enclave have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes. Some 1,500 Hamas terrorists who infiltrated into its territory have also been killed since Saturday, Israel said.
ירושלים – מחילופי האש הכבדים
פיגוע בירושלים: זק"א: ירושלים, התקבל דיווח על פיגוע ירי לעבר תחנת שלם במזרח העיר, במקום 2 נפגעים, מחבל מנוטרל pic.twitter.com/03LIhk4fsi— כל החדשות בזמן אמת (@Saher_News_24_7) October 12, 2023
Meanwhile, security forces have been on high alert in Jerusalem and the West Bank, particularly in preparation for a “Day of Rage” announced by Hamas for Friday, when the group called for mass rallies of Muslims in Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank and around the world in support of its fight against Israel.
