A Timeline of Terror: What Happened in the Minutes After the Ramot Shooting
The Jerusalem terror attack unfolded in a rapid sequence of events, from a bus driver's quick thinking to the heroic actions of an IDF soldier, as new details reveal how a tragedy was averted and a community was left in mourning.
A detailed timeline of the recent terror attack in Jerusalem reveals a fast-moving and chaotic scene where quick thinking and courage saved lives. At approximately 10:15 a.m., two terrorists arrived by car at a bus stop at the Ramot Junction. They attempted to board a crowded bus, but the driver, sensing something was wrong, quickly closed the doors, preventing their entry. The terrorists immediately began firing on the bus and the people waiting at the stop.
An IDF soldier and a civilian, who were at the scene, heroically engaged the terrorists, neutralizing them about 50 meters from the bus. A new video of the initial moments of the attack shows the terrorists preparing their assault and the subsequent chaos as people fled.
At 10:45 a.m., Magen David Adom pronounced four people dead at the scene. Among the initial victims were a man in his 50s and three men in their 30s. Emergency crews worked to treat the wounded, with five in serious condition and many suffering from glass shrapnel wounds. One of the wounded was an eight-month pregnant woman. Dr. Alon Schwartz, the head of the trauma unit at Shaare Zedek Hospital, reported that many of the seriously wounded would require surgery but were currently in stable condition.
By 11:15 a.m., Shaare Zedek Hospital announced that a 50-year-old woman had succumbed to her wounds, raising the death toll to five. A short time later, a man in his 40s was also pronounced dead, bringing the total number of murdered to six. The victims were later identified as Rabbi Mordechai Steinzack, Sara Mendelson, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Pash, Yakov Pinto, Yisrael Matzner, and Rabbi Yosef David.
An initial investigation also revealed the difficulties faced by emergency forces in reaching the scene of the attack. A separate, multi-car accident on Begin Road, involving ten vehicles and causing minor injuries to eight people, created massive traffic jams that delayed first responders. Eyewitnesses claim that even three hours after the accident, police had not sent traffic officers to the area to help manage the gridlock.
Following the attack, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other senior police officials arrived at the scene. The villages from which the terrorists came were sealed off, and an East Jerusalem resident was arrested on suspicion of having driven them to the location of the attack. Zamir also postponed a planned awards ceremony in light of the day's events.