Police open fire on vehicle suspected of transporting illegal Palestinians
A vehicle suspected of transferring illegal Palestinians refuses to stop after ordered to do so by traffic police; after vehicle reportedly tries to run him over, officer opens fire and aims for the wheels, forcing it to stop; search for passengers who fled upon halt continues.
A traffic police officer opened fire Tuesday afternoon at a vehicle transporting illegal infiltrators after the officer suspected they were trying to escape.
The incident began when a traffic police officer noticed a suspicious vehicle crossing the Plugot Junction near Kiryat Gat from west to east. After the driver ignored the officer's signal to stop the vehicle, the vehicle exited its lane in an apparent attempt to flee, while also trying to hit the traffic police officer.
In response, the policeman fired at the wheels of the vehicle, and the driver stopped. No one was injured as a result of the shooting.
The policeman then stopped the driver, but the three passengers in the vehicle fled to a nearby grove. The police suspect that the three are illegal residents of the southern Hebron hills.
The driver was taken in for questioning, and the police began searching the area with the use of helicopters, in an attempt to capture the passengers, who remain at large.
