Suspecting car-ramming attack, IDF eliminates high-speed chase driver

Fearing an attempted terrorist car-ramming, soldiers eliminated an Arab Israeli driver who crashed into a bus stop during a high-speed chase in Samaria. 

By: World Israel News

An Arab Israeli man reportedly stole a car on Tuesday morning, before crashing the vehicle into an empty bus stop. Soldiers at the scene believed the suspect had attempted a vehicular terror attack and opened fire as the suspect attempted to flee the scene by foot. He was shot and critically wounded, and later died of his wounds. There were no other injuries.

The suspect was driving on the Route 5 highway, near the Gitai junction when the police began their pursuit. The army said, “The driver crashed the car head-on into a bus stop near the city of Ariel, exited the car and tried to flee the scene.”

The army says that soldiers deployed near the scene thought they were witnessing a car-ramming terror attack and fired at the suspect, wounding him. The driver received medical attention at the scene, but died before reaching the hospital.

The army said it has launched an investigation into the incident.

In a separate security incident, security guards shot a Palestinian man who ran toward a checkpoint near the city of Tulkarem in northern Samaria. The guards at the Te’enim checkpoint reportedly called on the suspect to stop, and shot him in the leg when he did not respond. The suspect was evacuated to hospital in serious condition.