Stories From the Streets: Angry Crowd Threatens Responder

A few minutes before 10 PM on a recent Sunday evening, a 20-year-old man was found shot in the Arab city of Arraba in the Northern District of Israel. All emergency responders in the vicinity were alerted to the act of violence.

Roshde Hossen, a United Hatzalah volunteer from Lotem, was enjoying a coffee with his friend when he got the call. Hossen stood up and said good-bye to his friend, then ran to his car to rush to the scene. 

Hossen arrived alongside a police officer, and together they sprinted toward a man lying on the ground next to his car. Hossen checked the man’s vitals and found no signs of life. Turning him over, the EMT realized there was no way anyone could revive the man. All the blood around him, on his clothes and the ground, had completely dried—it was clear he was shot hours before. There were multiple bullet wounds in both of his legs, his stomach, and his chest. 

Hossen nonetheless tried to resuscitate the man by connecting a defibrillator and performing CPR. “As an EMT I cannot pronounce a person dead at the scene,” he said. “The man’s family members and friends were around, and I had to show them that I tried and that I care because that’s my job.”

Just a few minutes later, United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs Darwesh Helew and Abdal Rahman arrived, as did other police officers, and the scene quickly became chaotic, with bright lights, sirens, and people everywhere. “I wanted to help but, unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to save the man,” said Helew. “I connected an EKG monitor, but it didn’t produce any readings, as there was no cardiac activity. Too much time had passed since the shooting.”

Hossen continued, “The people who knew the man kept saying what a good guy he was, and they were devastated this had happened to him. However, some of the people crowding around me as I was performing CPR started to become violent. They shouted at me, demanding I bring back their friend and family member, and some even began to hit me on the head. The police officer shielded me and held the growing crowd back as I continued CPR. I was nervous they would see the iron rods from the construction site nearby—there was no doubt in my mind that in their anger over their lost friend, they would use them against me.”

“Unfortunately this is not the first time I have been attacked for just trying to help. A different time I was performing CPR on a young boy. His father held a gun to my head and yelled that if I wasn’t able to resuscitate his son, he’d shoot. I understand these people are upset and stressed, but violence should never be the answer.”

Hossen added, “As soon as additional police and paramedics arrived, they took control of the situation and covered the deceased body. The police are investigating the situation and attempting to apprehend the perpetrator and discover his motives.”

After the incident, Abdal said, “This village is a violent one, and many times I have been called to help victims of violence. Usually the people shot receive bullet wounds in their legs, where we can bandage up the wound, and the person will most likely live and recover. This incident was painful for everyone. With God’s help there will be a stop to the violence, and an occurrence like this won’t happen again.”

Raphael Poch is the international media spokesperson for United Hatzalah.