Policeman shot with own weapon

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
A gunfight erupted early Saturday morning between police and a group of young men near Mount Tabor in the Galilee, after one youth attacked a police officer with the officer's own flashlight and gun. The incident began when a police officer and a civilian volunteer from the Afula station, who had been called to the scene, encountered a group of intoxicated youths. One young man grabbed a flashlight from the policeman's hands and used it to hit him in the head. Another youth grabbed hold of his service weapon and shot him. The battered police officer used the volunteer's gun to shoot at the youths, wounding two. The officer and two suspects were taken to Ha'emek Hospital in Afula. One of the suspects was later transferred to Haifa's Rambam Hospital in serious condition. Later Saturday, two additional suspects were arrested. All of the suspects have criminal records for drugs, theft and violence.