The officers were attacked in a civilian vehicle near the entrance to Jerusalem’s Issawiya neighborhood and were then chased into French Hill as attackers threw stones and sprayed pepper spray.
Two off-duty Border Police officers along with one civilian were attacked in Issawiya and later on in French Hill on Wednesday night, Israeli Police said in a statement.
The officers were initially attacked in a civilian vehicle near the entrance to Jerusalem’s Issawiya neighborhood, which is directly southeast of the French Hill neighborhood. They were then chased into French Hill as attackers threw stones and sprayed pepper spray.
One attacker grabbed the weapon of one of the police officers in the vehicle. Judging that the attackers posed a threat to their lives, the officers fired into the air in order to scare away the attackers who subsequently fled the scene.
The aftermath
Israeli Police dispatched additional forces to the area and quickly recovered the stolen firearm while searching the area for the suspects. Police are currently active in the Issawiya neighborhood, working to locate and arrest the attackers.
One police officer was lightly injured by the thrown stones and pepper spray. The vehicle in which the trio were traveling was heavily damaged.
Kann News tweeted a video of the scene, focusing on the damaged vehicle.
Jerusalem District Commander Superintendent Doron Turgeman arrived on the scene, assessed the situation and confirmed that police forces will continue to operate in the area and investigate the event.