KFAR SABA, ISRAEL – While counter terrorism is normally seen as the purview of high profile defenders anyone can stop an attack.
Pity the security guard. In some quarters this profession is generally looked down upon. Security guards are seen as poorly-trained, poorly-equipped ‘rent-a-cops’ and rarely get any respect.
And yet they are everywhere: shopping malls, schools, hospitals, large office buildings…you name it. If they had no purpose at all, why would we see them so much?
Surprisingly, perhaps, this cadre can play, and has played, a role during terrorism events. Some have paid with their lives.
On this day in 2003
A Palestinian teenager blew himself up outside the train station in the Israeli city of Kfar Saba, killing an Israeli security guard who prevented him from entering the station, and injuring 14 other people. Israeli police stated that the man was from the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank, and that they were searching for accomplices who may have driven him to the station.
(This was) a vicious attack against in Israeli civilians, and another attempt to instil fear in the heart of Israelis.
David Baker, an official in prime minister Ariel Sharon’s office
So the next time you look askance at a security guard think of the unnamed man who lost his life to save the lives of others. I guarantee you won’t look at these public servants the same way again. RIP Israeli citizen.
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