By Dean Weingarten
Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- Video from Israel, where an armed Israeli stopped a knife attack before the knife man made contact. In the video, situational awareness is key. The shooter, who is on the right, looks over his shoulder. He probably hears the approaching knifeman running up to attack.
He turns around, drawing a pistol as the knife man gets close. The knife man, seeing the drawing motion, makes a fatal mistake. Instead of being committed to the attack, he hesitates and stops moving forward. He seems to be attempting a knife throw when the Israeli shoots him. He goes down decisively. He may have been off balance and starting to back-peddle when he was shot.
The second Israeli, in the middle, also appears to be armed. He is slower on the draw and does not appear to fire any shots. While it is not certain, he appears to have a pistol in his left hand after the knife man is down on the ground.
It is a classic case of situational awareness and a gun beating a knife brought to a gun fight.
Update: More information has become available about the attack shown in the video at the link. From haaretz.com:
Meanwhile, another stabbing attack was reported in Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. The assailant ran toward two security guards on HaNevi’im Street in the direction of the gate with a knife in his hand. The guards shot at the attacker before he managed to stab them, critically wounding him.
Haaretz.com may be using “guards” in a generic sense. While the video resolution is not great, I believe that only one guard fired. A still photograph at one source shows the attacker on the ground, being worked on by paramedics. His upper torso is visible, and there are no apparent wounds. The upper half of his head is obscured, so it seems likely that the bullet hit him in the head. This would account for the almost instantaneous stop from the single shot.
An article at vosizneias.com confirms that only one guard was fired. It also states that this attacker was older than most.
Minutes later, a 37-year-old terrorist wielding a knife charged two security guards at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Samri said one of the guards shot him, leaving him in critical condition.
Some statistics have surfaced on these attacks. From dothaneagle.com:
Since mid-September, 12 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings. Seventy-seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 50 said by Israel to have been involved in attacks or attempted attacks. The other Palestinians died in clashes between stone-throwers and security forces.
Visitors to Israel have told me that armed Israelis are a common sight. Nearly all Israelis have to attend military training. Most of the firearms that are carried are owned by the government. Firearm permits are difficult to obtain in Israel. In light of the recent attacks, Mayor Barkat of Jerusalem, who personally captured one of the attackers in the middle of an attack, has asked all Israeli permit holders to carry their weapons with them at all times. From israeltoday.co:
Amidst this escalating situation, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is urging all licensed residents of his city to carry their guns with them at all times.
Some slight moves have been made to ease the difficulty of obtaining permits for private weapons in Israel. Modern Israel has historically been a socialist country where the government-owned nearly all weapons.
About Dean Weingarten;
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.