The defendant was asked why he did not get into his car at this stage and drove away, and explained (p. 530 of Prut, paras. 32 ff.):
"So because at that moment the situation for me was somehow, it's like I saw a terrorist in front of my eyes, I couldn't turn my back on him, as if as soon as I saw that there was some kind of threat in him, I was like all my life, even as a fighter, I was raised to strive for contact, as if to neutralize the threat and strive for contact, I couldn't turn my back on him at that moment because the vehicle was already continuing on that ascent, just turn my back to this threat, as if my feeling was that he threatened me and just walk I can't turn my back on him in the direction of the car."
The defendant explained that he felt threatened by the deceased's aggressiveness, by his body movements, by the curses he cursed, by the way he got out of his car and ran towards the defendant. The defendant stated that he did not know at that stage what the deceased was holding in his hands and felt afraid of the situation. Moreover, the defendant feared that if he turned his back, the deceased would run him over with his jeep. However, the defendant emphasized that he did not shoot the deceased when he flinched the initial shot and turned around, because he did not feel that the deceased was endangering his life and because the deceased was unarmed, while the defendant did not identify a weapon in his hands. The defendant emphasized that his goal was for the deceased to leave the place. The defendant explained that he approached the deceased's car while the deceased was sitting in the car, because vehicles had arrived and he wanted to clear the road, and because he had been trained to strive for contact. He also explained that he wanted to make sure that the deceased did not take a weapon out of the vehicle and leave the scene.
- The defendant went on to describe the course of the incident as follows (p. 532 of Prut, paras. 16-19):
"After I shoot again in the air he pounces on me, first with a fist in front of my nose, then he jumps in the direction of my weapon and I just move the weapon away from him, he jumps on me with blows and we both fall to the floor, literally rolling on the floor in a struggle."