One victim was declared dead at the scene, with another 8 wounded; Three Palestinian terrorists shot and killed.
By World Israel New Staff
At least one person was killed and eight others were wounded, three of them seriously, in a shooting attack on Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim on Thursday morning.
According to Hebrew-language reports, three terrorists opened fire at the az-Za’ayyem checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem, using “automatic weapons” to target Israelis sitting in their cars while waiting to pass through the checkpoint.
Two of the terrorists who perpetrated the attack were shot and killed at the scene by armed civilians, police said.
A third Palestinian terrorist who participated in the shooting spree was shot and killed by police minutes later, as he fled the area.
The az-Za’ayyem checkpoint, where the attack was carried out, is typically crowded on weekday mornings.
Residents of Maaleh Adumim who commute to Jerusalem and central Israel must pass through the checkpoint, creating large traffic jams and situations in which hundreds of cars sit unmoving on the road.
The attack was likely planned for a busy weekday morning in order to inflict the maximum number of civilian casualties.
The Magen David Adom (MDA) first responders organization said it had provided treatment to the wounded on the scene, before the victims were taken to local hospitals.
MDA spokesman Eli Bin said that among the wounded, three are in serious condition – meaning that their lives are in immediate danger – and that two are moderately hurt.
At least five of the wounded were transported to Sha’are Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
The identities of the victims have not been made public yet.
NDA paramedic Amit Ararat, who is also a nurse at Sha’are Tzedek, said that she had provided aid to one of the victims of the attack.
“The wounded [woman] got out of her vehicle and we started to treat her. It took a few minutes to get the bleeding under control. She has an injury to a major artery in her left arm,” Ararat told Channel 12 News.
“She told me that she started running and saw the terrorist’s weapon as he shot her.”
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