A man murdered a policeman in Israel. The incident occurred on the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday afternoon and ended with law enforcement shooting the assailant dead. Hours later, it was discovered that the killer was a 27-year-old man affiliated with the military wing of the self-styled Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group. The local police confirmed that it was a "shooting attack."
According to the Tel Aviv Municipality, two policemen were calmly riding a motorcycle when they spotted a suspicious subject, so they stopped and asked him to identify himself. At that moment, and to the surprise of many, the 27-year-old opened fire directly at the officers, seriously wounding one of them.
#WATCH | 🇮🇱 Israel: an attack in Tel Aviv in broad daylight leaves one dead. The assailant, a Palestinian terrorist belonging to the Islamic Jihad group, was shot dead by a security guard. https://t.co/s4ZPQi4a2d
— VOZ (@Voz_US) August 5, 2023
Seconds later, another officer opened fire on the shooter and managed to shoot him down. He was carrying a message stating that he wanted to become a "martyr."
"We arrived on the scene to find a great commotion. A 40-year-old man was lying unconscious, without a pulse or breathing, and had suffered penetrating wounds to his body. We immediately initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and transported him to the hospital in an MDA mobile intensive care unit. He remains in critical condition," reported Magen David Adom of the emergency medical service.
בשם כל אזרחי ישראל, שרה ואני שולחים תנחומים מעומק ליבנו למשפחתו של חן אמיר ז״ל, סייר עיריית תל אביב-יפו שנרצח היום בפיגוע בתל אביב.
חן, בן 42, נשוי לורד ואב לשלוש בנות, מנע בגופו פיגוע גדול והציל חיים רבים.
כוחות הביטחון שלנו יבואו חשבון עם כל מבקשי נפשנו.
יהי זכרו ברוך. pic.twitter.com/dm5CrDEaQk
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) August 5, 2023
Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the swift action of the security forces. "I congratulate the security personnel of the Tel Aviv municipality for thwarting a much more serious attack. Our security forces will counter all those who seek to harm us," the Israeli prime minister tweeted.
In addition, Bibi highlighted the work of Chen Amir, the officer who was shot down in the line of duty. "On behalf of all citizens of Israel, Sara and I send our condolences from the bottom of our hearts to the family of the late Chen Amir, a patrolman in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality who was killed today in an attack in Tel Aviv. Chen, 42, married to Lord and the father of three daughters, prevented a major attack with his body and saved many lives," he added.
