On Friday night at 8:16 pm, United Hatzalah’s Command and Dispatch Center received reports of several injuries following a shooting incident on Neve Yaakov Boulevard at the entrance to a local synagogue.
Yosef Deshet, a United Hatzalah volunteer EMT, was in the synagogue with his son when the shooting began. "When I heard the gunshots begin I took cover on the floor under a table with my son. Immediately after the shooting ended, I ran to my house nearby to bring my son back to safety and to grab my medical trauma kit and bulletproof vest," he recounted. "I then ran back to the synagogue and found a number of people who were seriously injured and in critical condition. I initiated CPR and reported the number of injured and the severity of the injuries to dispatch," added Deshet.
Volunteer EMT Chanoch Reem, who lives in front of the synagogue, arrived at the scene immediately after the shooting subsided and treated several people who were seriously injured.
"The terrorist killed three people at the entrance to the synagogue and left three others with various injuries," recounted Chanoch. "He then drove away while continuing to shoot passersby including children, killing four more people and injuring an additional three."
"I was just beginning the Shabbat [Friday night] meal when the attack occurred. I grabbed my bulletproof helmet and vest and rushed to the scene of the attack. Once the police gave the okay that the scene was safe, I began to provide psychological first aid and emotional stabilization to those injured and the eye-witnesses in numerous locations, both at the synagogue and down the street where the attack took place," related the medic.
In total, over 30 United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs, five paramedics, and three doctors treated those injured following the attack, with five ambulances responding to the crisis.
Due to the nature of the incident, the Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit was also dispatched and treated numerous eyewitnesses for emotional and psychological shock.