Police said Friday they thwarted an attempted stabbing attack outside a police station in northern Israel.
The suspect, a 23-year-old resident of Jadeidi-Makr, was armed with a knife and was subdued without being wounded, police said.
The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. near the entrance to the Western Galilee police station in Kafr Yasif, an Arab town in northern Israel.
Police said a Border Police reserve officer had finished his shift and was waiting outside the station for a ride home when a car stopped nearby. The driver got out and began walking toward him.
The officer initially thought the man was someone he knew, but within seconds saw that he was holding a knife and moving quickly toward him, police said. The two were about a meter apart.
The officer stepped back, fell and tried to cock his weapon. After failing on the first attempt, he quickly recovered, loaded the weapon and warned the suspect that he would shoot if he did not stop and move away.
The suspect then threw down the knife, police said. The officer overpowered him and held him until additional forces arrived.
The suspect was taken for questioning. Police said they would decide whether to seek an extension of his detention based on the findings of the investigation.