Manhunt for terrorist who shot nine-year-old Noam Glick at point-blank range while she was playing in her family's backyard in the Ramallah-adjacent Judea and Samaria community continues • Doctors: Girl had miraculous escape, is now in stable condition.
Efrat Forsher, Yori Yalon, Lilach Shoval and Israel Hayom Staff
Nine-year-old Noam Glick arriving at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem on Saturday night
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Photo credit: CONTACT
Nine-year-old Noam Glick was wounded Saturday night in a terror attack in Psagot, a Judea and Samaria community located north of Jerusalem and adjacent to the Palestinian city of Ramallah. She was rushed to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in serious-to-moderate condition, apparently suffering from a gunshot wound to her chest.
Security forces, including the Shin Bet, police, Israel Defense Forces, Border Police and the military's Oketz canine unit, scrambled to Psagot and canvassed the area overnight in search of the perpetrator, whom the girl described as "a man wearing a black wool cap."
Psagot's residents were instructed to remain indoors throughout the night and were cleared to exit only around 6 a.m. Sunday.
The manhunt, which was resumed at dawn on Sunday, is led by IDF Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig. Gen. Tamir Yadi and Binyamin Division Commander Col. Yossi Pinto.
Initially, it was unclear whether Glick was shot by a terrorist who had infiltrated the community or by a sniper from nearby Ramallah, as the family's home is on the edge of the Psagot.
Security forces found tracks suggesting someone had breached the fences surrounding Psagot, but no tracks leading out of the community were found. The fence surrounding the community is a "smart fence," meant to alert its security officers in the event of a breach, but it was recently discovered that several segments of the fence had malfunctioned.
According to Army Radio, the IDF conducted a nightly raid in the Palestinian town of al-Bireh, which is located just a few hundred yards from Psagot, believing that the shooter had either come from the town or had fled to it after the fact. It is unclear at this time whether the terrorist acted alone or was part of a larger terror cell.
The report said that while it appears that the terrorist managed to flee the area, soldiers canvassing one of the possible roads leading out of Psagot found what was described as a "makeshift gun" not far from the community's security fence.
Palestinian media reported that hundreds of soldiers conducted a door-to-door search in the town. The Maan news agency reported that two youths were wounded in the raid.
According to available details, around 9 p.m. Glick, who was playing in her backyard, spotted a man wearing a black stocking cap approaching her with a gun. He shot her at point-blank range and fled the scene.
Despite her injuries, she managed to get inside her house and her parents called both Magen David Adom and their neighbor, Shlomo Petrover, who heads MDA's Jerusalem District. Petrover treated the girl until an ambulance arrived.
"I received a call from the MDA's Jerusalem dispatch last night reporting a minor had been shot. I soon realized it was my next-door neighbor," Petrover said Saturday. "I grabbed my gear and went over there. When I arrived I found my neighbor's nine-year-old daughter with a gunshot wound to her upper torso. I started treating her and she was fully conscious and communicative. The MDA team arrived shortly after that, and rushed her to Shaare Zedek Hospital in moderate-to-serious condition."
Yisrael, Noam's father, told Army Radio, "We went outside to check [the backyard] and Noam told us there was an Arab man out there. I realized that this was a security incident and that our lives were in danger. It's the scariest thing that can happen to a family here, to have a terrorist enter your home. I think the terrorist was actually spooked by Noam and instead of entering the house he shot her."
MDA paramedic Yoni Hacohen, who arrived at the scene, said the girl was frightened and in pain. "She spoke to us the entire time we were on our way the hospital. She was a real hero and we told her so," he said.
Dr. Dan Fink, head of the Pediatric Cardiology Unit at Shaare Zedek told Channel 2 that Glick was fully conscious when she was rushed in. "According to what the girl said, the terrorist was at close range," he said, further describing her condition as stable, and saying she was out of danger.
"She has a gash, about a half-a-centimeter deep, on the left side of her neck and another wound near her left ear. A CT scan has ruled out any vascular injury. She has been conscious throughout [the tests]," Fink said.
"According to her account the terrorist was a hair's breadth away from her. It's a miracle she survived. The wound doesn't present like a gunshot wound, but we know from other testimonies that gunshots were heard. The girl said that the terrorist was holding a gun. As far as we're concerned she's stable and we are keeping her [in the hospital] for observation," Fink said.
"What happened tonight is a grave incident," David Tzviel, who serves as the spokesman for Psagot, said. "We have enjoyed peace and quiet for years. This is a difficult time for us."