Arab man with air gun sets off terror scare in Jerusalem

The Israel police estimate they will apprehend the shooter in the near future.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

An Arab armed with an air gun who shot at a bus driving on a main road in Jerusalem on Wednesday night set off a scare of an armed terrorist running loose in the heart of the city.

The incident began when a man approached a bus and shot at it, shattering the front door and then escaping. Footage of the incident captured on security cameras shows a man approaching the bus and shooting at it at point-blank.

Initially thought to be a terror attack, the police streamed massive forces to the area and toward the Old City, the supposed destination of the suspected terrorist, with a helicopter from the Israel Police Air Unit assisting the operation.

Police later stated that after initial investigative actions it appears that the incident did not entail live gunfire and that the background to the incident is criminal.

Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman conducted a situation assessment at the scene of the incident and instructed the commanders of the forces to continue the search operations.

The bus passengers later reported that the driver and a passenger-turned-shooter, both Arabs and residents of Silwan, apparently knew each other and that the shooting occurred after an altercation between them.

The police estimate that they will apprehend the shooter in the near future as the driver has identified him.

Israeli security forces are on a heightened alert following an increase in terror attacks in recent weeks, and especially after an Israeli Special Forces unit killed three members of a terror cell in the City of Shechem (Nablus) on Tuesday.

The three, who had carried out a least five shooting attacks in Samaria in recent weeks, were members of Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, which has threatened to revenge their deaths.