Two in serious condition after attack at checkpoint near Beit El; gunman, a member of PA security forces, shot dead by soldiers
Three Israelis were wounded on Sunday when a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces opened fire at an IDF checkpoint near Beit El in the West Bank. He was shot dead by forces at the scene.
Magen David Adom emergency services said that two victims were in serious condition with wounds to the neck and thigh, respectively, and one was lightly hurt.
The shooter drove up to the Focus checkpoint in a car and exited it before opening fire with a handgun, injuring the three. Palestinian reports named him as Amjad Sakari, 35, and said he was a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces who was working as a bodyguard for the Ramallah district attorney.
“Forces at the scene responded to the attack and shot the assailant, resulting in his death,” the IDF said in a statement.
An undated photo of Amjad Sakari, a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces said to have carried out a shooting attack in the West Bank on Sunday, January 31, 2016 (screen capture: Twitter)
The victims were treated at the scene by army medics and were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem for treatment.
“Medics and paramedics, with assistance from an IDF medical team, administered medical aid and are evacuating to hospitals in Jerusalem three young men around 20 years of age,” the Magen David Adom ambulance service said in a statement.
“One of them is in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the upper body, another is in serious condition with a gunshot wounded to the extremities, and a third is [in] light [condition] with a gunshot wound to the extremities,” the statement said.