A few minutes before 10:00 p.m., on 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 surrounding 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. Roshde stood up and said goodbye to his friend as he ran outside to his car to rush to the scene. 

 

Roshde arrived alongside a policewoman and together they sprinted to the man lying on the ground next to his car. Roshde checked the man’s vitals and didn’t find any signs of life. Turning him over, the EMT realized that there was no way anyone could revive the man. All the blood around him, on his clothes and the floor, had completely dried up. It was clear that he was shot hours before. There were multiple bullet wounds, in both of his legs, his stomach, and his chest. 

 

Roshde tried to resuscitate the man by connecting a defibrillator and performing CPR. “As an EMT, I cannot pronounce a person dead at the scene. 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 Raya arrived as did other police officers and the scene had quickly become chaotic with bright lights, sirens, and people everywhere. Darwesh said, “I wanted to help but, unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to save the man. 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.”

 

Roshde continued, “The people who knew the man kept on saying what a good guy he was and were devastated that 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 policewoman shielded me as I continued CPR and held the growing crowd back. 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 that they would use it against me as well.”

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have been attacked for just trying to help,” said Roshde sadly, “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 that these people are upset and stressed but violence should never be the answer.”

 

Roshde added, “as soon as additional police forces 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 as the man was killed. With G-d’s help, there will be a stop to the violence and an occurrence like this won’t happen again.”

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