Three Israeli police officers murdered in drive-by shooting attack by Palestinian terrorists south of Jerusalem.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Three Israelis were shot at killed by Palestinian terrorists in a drive-by shooting attack in the Mount Hebron region Sunday morning.
The attack occurred at 7:09 a.m. near the Tarqumiya checkpoint on Route 35 north of the city of Hebron, when terrorists in a passing car opened fire on a police vehicle, leaving four officers wounded.
A team of IDF paramedics and emergency first responders from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah were dispatched to the scene to treat the victims and evacuate them to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
However, paramedics were forced to declare three of the victims dead at the scene, including two men and woman, all in their 30s
The fourth victim, a man roughly 50 years of age, was airlifted via an MDA helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in critical condition.
“This was a very severe attack,” said MDA EMT Tzuriel Edri and MDA paramedic David Dahan, who were the first to arrive at the scene.
“We saw a vehicle with bullet marks on a mound beside the road. Three passengers were extracted from the vehicle: two men and a woman. A man and a woman in their 30s were unconscious with gunshot wounds, with no pulse and not breathing.”
“We fought for their lives and performed resuscitation efforts. After a few minutes, with the assistance of IDF medical forces, we had to pronounce the death of a woman in her 30s.”
“A man in his 50s, who was also unconscious and suffering from gunshot wounds, received medical treatment and was evacuated to the helicopter pad where an MDA helicopter transported him to Soroka Hospital in critical condition while resuscitation was ongoing. The third man, around 30 years old, was also evacuated to the pad, and unfortunately, his death was confirmed there.”
A report by Israel National News identified the three fatally wounded victims as police officers.
Immediately after the shooting attack, the terrorists responsible abandoned their vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
Large numbers of IDF forces have been deployed to the area and a manhunt for the terrorists has been launched.
Police have cordoned off the area, shutting down Route 35 in both directions.