According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, at approximately 11:30 p.m. the unidentified man drew the attention of the soldiers upon exiting an Egged bus across the street from the central bus station.

“He was acting very suspiciously, and two IDF soldiers patrolling the area as part of Jerusalem’s heightened security suspected he may be a terrorist and asked him to present his identification, but the man said he refused to show it,” Rosenfeld said on Thursday morning.

“When the soldiers began questioning him, it turned into a fight, and the man tried to take a gun from one of the soldiers. Unfortunately, as a result, he was shot and killed at the scene.”

Neither of the soldiers was wounded in the scuffle, he said.

“Police are looking into his background and why he behaved like this,” he said. “Many different questions are being asked.”

The soldiers’ account of the struggle and shooting was corroborated during a subsequent joint investigation by police and the IDF, who interviewed the driver of the bus that the suspect traveled in.

“The bus driver who saw what was happening tried to help control him using a shocker, however, this person continued his attempt, allegedly, to snatch the weapon from the soldier,” police said in a statement.

“Nearby, a security guard spotted the struggle, ran to the scene and opened fire at the primary suspect. Another shooting was carried by the soldiers themselves.”

Only after the man was neutralized was it made clear that he was a Jew from Jerusalem, police concluded.

“The Jerusalem police deployment continues to expand across the city,” the statement continued.

“Police call on the public to continue reporting suspicious people and follow the directions of security personnel on the ground, who are working with determination to protect the public and restore peace to the city.”

ZAKA rescue and recovery chairman Yehuda Meshi Zahav, who was at the scene, said he also initially thought the suspect was an Arab terrorist.

“When I arrived with the ZAKA team at the site of the supposed terrorist attack, it seemed to be a ‘standard’ current terrorist attack, a stabbing attempt, and the terrorist was apprehended,” he said.

“I wanted to cover the body in a black bag [reserved for terrorists]. After I was asked to take care of the body I saw that he was a Jew, and that it was mistake to speak of a terrorist. I immediately notified the police and we switched to a white ZAKA body bag.”

The capital remains at its highest state of security in the wake of a deadly terror wave that has resulted in numerous roadblocks and check points in flash point Arab neighborhoods, as well as the deployment of over 5,000 Border Police and IDF soldiers to patrol the city.

Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post