Barehanded, Israeli EMT Neutralizes Knife-Wielding Terrorist, Treats Two Victims

“The terrorist looked determined. I could see the evil in his eyes,” said United Hatzalah volunteer Benny Mushulam.

By United with Israel Staff

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Benny Meshulam was on his way to work from his home in Beer Yaakov in central Israel when he noticed the traffic in the opposite lane come to an abrupt halt. He witnessed two young men lying on the sidewalk with a commotion around them.

United Hatzalah is an Israeli free, volunteer-based emergency medical services organization throughout Israel with its headquarters based in Jerusalem.

“At first, I didn’t understand what was happening,” Meshulam recounted. “After a few seconds, I realized that it was a terror attack. I immediately put my car in park, flipped up the handbrake, and ran toward the incident, shouting ‘terrorist.’”

He and two other citizens, barehanded, worked together to subdue the terrorist, who had stabbed two IDF soldiers from the nearby Tzrifin army base. Both victims, approximately 20 years old, were wounded, one seriously.

Meshulam, together with the other two men,  tackled the terrorist to prevent him from harming anyone else, including those congregated at the side of the roadway.

“We punched and kicked him, and used anything else we could in order to knock him down,” Benny said.

“The terrorist looked determined. I could see the evil in his eyes. Once he was no longer a threat, I ran towards one of the men, who had sustained serious injuries from being stabbed in his upper torso. I provided initial treatment, bandaging the man’s wounds and applying pressure on them in order to stop the bleeding. I contacted dispatch and made sure that backup was on the way.

“After a few minutes, other volunteers began to arrive and took over treating the young man. I then went to treat the second person who had been injured in the incident. His wounds were less severe, and he was in light condition.”

Both victims were quickly evacuated to the nearby Assaf HaRofeh hospital for further treatment.

Reflecting on the incident while visiting the injured men at the hospital a short time later, Meshulam expressed gratitude for the opportunity to help.

“I feel privileged that I was able to help neutralize the threat and save a man’s life. I still haven’t fully internalized what happened. It will probably take me a long time to process what happened this morning and the part I played in it. I simply reacted and did what needed to be done. The emotional fallout and decompressing will take time.”

The terrorist, a resident of Hebron, was arrested and is in custody of the police.

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