The attacker shot after attempting to stab a YASAM officer in Lod on Wednesday morning has been identified as Sami Ahmad Ja'asus, a 28-year-old Israeli Arab resident of Lod with a prior criminal record for weapons offenses, according to Israeli media. Earlier reports that he was an illegal Palestinian infiltrator have been contradicted; the police are framing the incident as a terror attack. No Israeli forces were injured.
The thwarted stabbing attack in Lod on Wednesday morning has taken a clarifying turn as the identity of the assailant was corrected. Sami Ahmad Ja'asus, a 28-year-old Israeli Arab resident of Lod who was known to police for prior weapons offenses, attempted to stab an elite YASAM (Border Police) officer and was shot and neutralized at the scene, the Israel Police confirmed through i24NEWS. Initial reports that the attacker was an illegal Palestinian infiltrator have been overturned; the incident is being investigated as a terror attack.
According to a report from the scene by Yedidya Epstein, Ja'asus was seen by civilians holding a knife near the municipal complex. They alerted police, and when units arrived, he fled. YASAM forces cornered him, and as he attempted to stab one of the officers, he was shot.
The Zioneer reported earlier that the police had received a civilian report of a suspect with a knife near a school in Lod. The attacker's identity as an Israeli citizen rather than an infiltrator shifts the framing of the security incident. No further casualties were reported among security forces.
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