Skip to main content

Backhoe attacker was 'married father'

  • Story Highlights
  • Two Israeli policemen sustained minor injuries in the incident
  • Driver shot by an Israeli policeman and a taxi driver at the scene
  • Police at scene say Quran, or Muslim holy book, found at scene
  • Next Article in World »
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A Palestinian man from East Jerusalem rammed a construction vehicle into a police car before he was shot and killed, Israeli police said Thursday.

The driver was identified as Mir'ei El Radida, 26, from the Beit Hanina neighborhood, police said. He was married with one child.

He rammed the construction vehicle into a police car and an empty bus on a major road in Jerusalem early Thursday, according to Israeli police and medical services.

Two Israeli policemen sustained minor injuries in the incident, police said.

The man was shot by an Israeli policeman and a taxi driver at the scene, according to a police spokesman and eyewitnesses. He died as he reached a Jerusalem hospital, Israeli medical services said.

A police officer on the scene told Israel Radio that there was an open Quran, or Muslim holy book, inside the construction vehicle.

The attack was similar to two in July of last year.

A Palestinian construction worker rammed a bulldozer into a string of vehicles, killing at least three people before he was shot and killed by Israeli police. Three weeks later, a person drove an earth-moving machine into a number of cars near the King David Hotel in downtown Jerusalem, before he was shot and killed.

Also, last September a Palestinian was shot and killed after he drove his car into a group of Israeli soldiers near Jerusalem's Old City.

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print