2 policemen wounded in Jerusalem shooting
Police were searching Saturday for a gunman who wounded a policeman and a border policeman who were on patrol in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday night, in what officials described as a nationalist attack by a Palestinian.
Just before midnight, shots were fired at the group near the Lion's Gate. Police units and Magen David Adom rushed to the scene and began treating the wounded at the scene, eventually evacuating them to Hadassah Hospital
The police officer and a border policeman were the first to arrive at the scene. The two officers had heard the gunshots, though initially thought that the gunfire was coming from nearby Arab wedding celebrations. What was it? A shotgun wedding?
"At about 11:36 pm the suspect approached the Israelis, fired at them and then fled in the direction of the cemetery," a Jerusalem police commander related.
The gunman fled to a Muslim cemetery nearby, and apparently was not hit by police fire.
Police Commissioner David Cohen said he did not believe the attack was related to recent attacks on civilians in Jerusalem. Several years ago, at the height of the second Palestinian uprising, Jerusalem was hit hard by Palestinian suicide bombers sent by militant groups. However, some of the recent attacks in the city appeared to the acts of individuals.
"We don't see a connection between these events," said Cohen. "At the moment, it was an isolated event." Of which there are rather a lot.
Posted on 4:44 AM by Esmerelda WEatherwax
