A few minutes before 10 PM, Sunday, a 20-year-old man was found shot in the Arab town of Arraba in the Northern District of Israel. All emergency responders in the surrounding area were alerted.
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 there was no way to revive the man. All the blood around him, on his clothes and the floor, had completely dried up. It was clear that he had been 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 arrived, as did other police officers, and the scene had quickly become chaotic with bright lights, sirens, and people everywhere.
“I wanted to help but, unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to save the man,” Darwesh said. “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 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, fearing they would spot the iron rods in 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,” 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 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 are shot 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 God’s help, there will be a stop to the violence and something like this won’t happen again.”
