Surveillance footage of attack in Karmiel mall
The IDF reported Wednesday evening that Sergeant Aleksandr (Sasha) Iakiminskyi, 19, from Nahariya, a driver in the 188th Brigade's 71st Battalion, was killed in a terrorist stabbing attack at a shopping mall in the northern city of Karmiel earlier. Another soldier was seriously wounded in the attack.
Surveillance footage from the mall shows the assailant—identified as Jawad Rabia, 20, an Arab Israeli citizen from the nearby town of Nahf—sneaking up on the two soldiers from behind and lunging at them with a knife.
Within seconds, Iakiminskyi and his comrade managed to draw their weapons. Initially, Iakiminskyi fell to the ground from the stab wounds. As the assailant turned to stab his comrade, Iakiminskyi managed to cock his weapon and fire. Rabia was hit and retreated slightly, allowing the comrade to distance himself and ready his weapon. Iakiminskyi, undeterred, fired repeatedly at the assailant until he was neutralized. Moments later, Iakiminskyi collapsed and was rushed to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya in critical condition, where doctors later pronounced him dead.
Northern District Police Chief Shuki Tahauko, praised Iakiminskyi for his swift action in neutralizing the attacker.
The slain soldier is survived by his parents Olga and Nikolai, and his 11-year-old brother Ilya.
'I am very proud of him'
"There are no children like him," said Iakiminskyi's mother Olga. "I am very proud of what he did. He was always loved, even from a young age. It was tough for him in the army at first, but recently he felt truly accepted there, loved the people around him, and got used to the structure and the sense that he was contributing something. He was supposed to come home tomorrow."
"Last night, he sent me a message saying he had a vehicle appointment in Karmiel," she recounted. "When the attack happened, I didn't immediately make the connection. I texted him, 'Sasha, how are you?' He didn't reply, which I thought was because he was driving, so I called him. He didn't pick up. I called again and again, and after several attempts, I felt someone was disconnecting the calls. Then I received a message from the ER at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, saying he was there. I put two and two together and rushed over. When I arrived, the doctors informed me that he was in very critical condition before he arrived at the hospital and that all efforts to save him had failed."
The mother saw the distressing videos from the scene, showing resuscitation attempts on her son. "I kept thinking it wasn't him," she said. "I couldn't believe it was him. I tried to look at the legs, but I couldn't identify him."
"It's important to me that people remember he was a wonderful and kind person, loved by many," she said. "I love him. He was always on the move, so I always worried. But whenever I sent him a message, he would always reply that everything was okay."
'The attacker was looking for someone to stab'
Following the attack, four family members of the assailant – his mother, father, brother and sister – arrived at the mall and were detained by the police. The arrests aim to determine if they had prior knowledge of the attacker's intentions.
Meanwhile, large police forces entered the attacker's hometown of Nahf, confiscating computers and equipment as part of an effort to understand the motives behind the attacker's actions.
Prof. Masad Barhoum, director of the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, said that doctors fought for a long time to save Iakiminskyi's life. "We administered him several blood transfusions, but despite all efforts, unfortunately, he was pronounced dead," he said.
He updated that the condition of the second soldier had stabilized and, although serious, his life was not in danger. "He was conscious, we calmed him down and treated him immediately," Barhoum added.
According to the police, the attack at the Hutzot Karmiel Mall began around 11:30 a.m. Gal Amar, who works at the mall, recounted that she was on the first floor during the attack and had come down from the second floor just minutes earlier. She said that according to others, the assailant appeared to be lurking for his victims and was looking for someone to attack.
"No one thought it would happen here. He simply walked into the mall, passed by our booth, and then came back. From what I understand, he was just waiting and searching, pacing back and forth," she said.
After the attacker was shot, panic erupted throughout the mall. "I was downstairs. People were running and screaming, 'Shots! Shots!' They took us into a bakery. I just froze in place, trembling," Amar recounted.
She emphasized the good relations between Jews and Arabs in the area. "Not everyone is like this. Not everyone. I work with people from the villages, good friends," she said. She added that she is now afraid to return to work at the mall.
Following the attack, the Northern District Police heightened their alert level. Deputy Commissioner Ran Ofir, operations officer for the Northern District, said that to ensure a sense of security, officers were redirected from other tasks to areas with high pedestrian traffic.