Screenshot of incident
Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit
WATCH: Cops taser US man brandishing metal bar
After attacking a kibbutz guard in northern Israel, the man fled into the forest nearby before police found him and called on him to drop the bar as he repeatedly yelled 'Fire,' while randomly lunging at the officers; after being tasered, he quickly recovered as officers charged toward him; ‘He told me Jesus revealed himself to him,’ says wife.
An American citizen was zapped with a taser gun and arrested at the end of last week after he attacked a guard at the entrance to the Almagor moshav in northern Israel.
The incident ended after a short standoff with the 31-year-old, during which police called on him, mainly in Hebrew, to drop the long metal bar he was brandishing while repeatedly screaming “Fire!”
The footage captured on camera attests to a police statement in which he was described as being “detached from reality.”
Man screaming 'Fire' while brandishing a metal bar. (קרדיט: דוברות המשטרה)
Police made their way to the scene of the unusual incident, which took place overnight Thursday, after receiving an emergency call reporting that the guard had been attacked and lightly wounded.
After assaulting the guard, the apparently deranged individual caused damage to a vehicle nearby before fleeing into the forest next to the moshav.
The police officers immediately began scouring the area and managed to locate the suspect when they heard him screaming the word “Fire!”
After closing in on the man, who continued to scream “In the name of the holy spirit, Jesus Christ...Fire!” while intermittently making monster-like noises as he appeared to bolt out an imaginary flame, he began to randomly lunge at the officers with the metal bar.
He refused to heed the warnings of the officers to drop the bar and after he failed to respond to multiple calls and warnings, they fired a taser gun at him.
Photo: Police Spokesperson's Unit
Despite being dropped to the ground, the man managed to quickly get up and recover, prompting police to charge at him and wrestle him back down.
According to the findings of an initial police investigation, the man arrived in Israel two weeks ago for a holiday with his wife and son.
In her testimony, his wife said that he had told her that Jesus had revealed himself to him, and instructed him to destroy the family credit cards before he made his way north.
He was brought before a judge in the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court on Friday who ordered that he remain in custody until Tuesday.
(Translated and edited by Alexander J. Apfel)
