The community of Maaleh Adumim. A security guard in a Maaleh Adumim shopping center near Jerusalem was critically injured. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – A security guard in a Maaleh Adumim shopping center near Jerusalem was critically injured overnight Thursday in an apparent terrorist attack.

Israeli media reported that a knife and an ax were found at the scene. According to a preliminary investigation, the security guard, who was in his late 40s, was hit with an ax in his upper torso. He was found lying on the floor with multiple stab wounds and taken by paramedics to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. As of Friday, he was in a medically induced coma and still fighting for his life.

Immediately after the attack, the Israel Police and the Shin Bet security service launched a manhunt and helicopters began scanning the area.

“This is a serious incident, and we are doing our utmost to seize the perpetrator,” said the chief of the Israel Police Judea and Samaria District, Shlomi Michael.