Security personnel recount Sarona terror attack, ‘I reacted like a predator’
Guards who witnessed mass shooting made sure of terrorist's identity before pulling the trigger; 'I scream Don't move! But he tries to get up.'
After the terror attack at the Max Brenner restaurant on Wednesday night, which claimed four Israeli lives and wounded 16 others, the terrorists who perpetrated the mass shooting attempted to flee the scene. But they had no chance. The response of the security guards nearby was immediate.
While one of the terrorists was held up in a policeman’s house, other security guards jumped from their posts upon hearing the sounds of gunfire - and quickly neutralized the second terrorist.
‘A,’ a security guard in the Sarona market place who witnessed the shooting attack immediately began the chase. “I heard voices,” he told his friend. “I get closer and see shooting. I react instinctively like a predator. I am full of adrenalin, I got closer while pulling out and loading my gun. I know that that is the terrorist.”
‘A’ emphasized that he did not shoot without being certain that the man on whom he was about to pull the trigger was the terrorist.
“I heard the the firing and didn’t see anyone. Only when I saw that someone was escaping with a gun did I understand that it was him. Then my gun jammed. I threw the magazine on the floor and pulled out another one and continued to run. He was getting away but eventually got tired. That’s when I shot,” he said
However, the terrorist was undeterred. Even after being shot he attempted to continue his flight and possibly attack more civilians. At this point, security guards from the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) appeared and began chasing him.
Avishai (32), who was completing his final shift before he begins work as tour guide, found himself face to face with the terrorist near the cinematheque. “I was about 5-6 meters away from him,” he recalled. “I see that he is lying on the ground and I scream at him; ‘Don’t move! Don’t move!’ Then he suddenly looks at me and starts getting up. I warn him again ‘Don’t move!’ but he tries to get up. I shoot three bullets at his lower body and neutralize him,” he recalled.
Avishai was careful to act with level-headedness. “It was clear to me the whole time that we have to (engage the enemy) resolutely and strongly, but also show sensitivity,” he continued. “It was important for me to hit his lower body. Now that he has been hospitalized in light condition the security forces can investigate and ascertain exactly where he came from and with which terror cell he was affiliated.”
Other guards from the IBA who pursued the terrorist were able to subdue him. Yoav (30), also spotted the terrorist while at his guard post and immediately began chasing him. “I saw a load of people and heard gunshots and then the terrorist appeared opposite me,” he recounted. “I immediately shot at him and then unfortunately my gun jammed. He continued to run in the direction of the cinematheque where the security forces trapped him.”
Vadim, another security guard who opened fire on the terrorist, said that the security forces didn’t think twice: “It was obvious that we had to act quickly. If we didn’t, a bigger disaster could occur,” he said. “I don’t feel like a hero. We did what we needed to do and that which is expected from us: to act quickly and with determination.”
