Terrorist with US green card stopped for pizza before going on stabbing spree in Israel
The Moroccan national holding a US green card who went on a stabbing spree in Israel, wounding four people before he was fatally shot, made a quick stop for pizza before going on his rampage, security footage shows.
Abdelaziz Kaddi, 29, was caught on camera picking up fresh slices at the Pizza and Tortilla restaurant in Tel Aviv just minutes before attacking four men in the Nahalat Binyamin neighborhood Tuesday night, local Channel 12 reports.
The surreal image came as a huge shock to restaurant owner Chaim Bassan, who chatted with the terrorist and believed him to be nothing more than a respectful customer.
“He was so close to us. We saw him. We talked to him,” Bassan told the outlet, according to a translation from the Times of Israel.
“A few minutes after he left the pizzeria, people began to run,” he added. “They were shouting ‘terrorist’ and I heard gunfire. So we ran.”
The pizza shop owner said Kaddi, who held a US permanent resident card, spoke English with an Arabic accent, something he found odd in the streets of Tel Aviv.
Other than his choice in language, Bassan said Kaddi didn’t give up any clues about the coming attack, noting that the terrorist even returned his plate to the shop, “which not all Israelis do,” he added.
After eating the slices of pizza, Kaddi proceeded to attack two men on e Nahalat Binyamin and another two around the corner before he was chased down by an off-duty IDF officer and killed by an armed civilian.
The US State Department said it has been made aware of reports that Kaddi was holding a US green card when he carried out the attack.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected,” the department said in a statement.
Israeli officials said Kaddi had entered Israel from the West Bank on Jan. 18 with a tourist visa. Despite being flagged by security when he arrived, he was still allowed to enter the Jewish state, according to the Shin Bet intelligence agency.
The case remains under investigation and is being treated as a terror attack.
