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Palestinian Authority/Gaza, October 19, 2015

Terrorist Opens Fire At Beersheba Bus Station, Kills One, Wounds 11

Original source

Times of Israel

An IDF soldier was killed and 11 more people were injured in a terror attack at the Central Bus Station in the southern city of Beersheba Sunday night.

Among the injured was an Eritrean man shot and seriously wounded by responding security forces, who initially mistook him for a terrorist.

According to the police, following an initial investigation, the attacker stabbed a soldier and stole his weapon, opening fire on the crowded bus terminal.

The soldier later died of his wounds after being rushed to a hospital in the area.

Rescue officials said 11 people were injured in the attack, which occurred at about 7:30 p.m.

Two of the victims were reported to be seriously wounded. At least four of those hurt in the attack were cops, police said.

The terrorist, who was not initially identified, was shot and killed by responding forces after holing up in a bathroom.

In the confusion during the attack, an Eritrean man was shot by the head security officer, possibly because of the color of his skin.

Initial reports suggested there had been two attackers, but after an investigation police ruled that the Eritrean man was not involved in the attack.

Gadi Abuchatzeira, deputy head of the Magen David Adom Negev Region, said rescuers found a number of injured, all of them in their 20s, in the station.

"We arrived at the scene en masse and spread throughout the station to look for other victims. We did a triage and began giving lifesaving treatment. Two of them had wounds to their upper bodies, they were unconscious," Abuchatzeira said.

"Four of the injured were fully conscious in moderate condition and suffering from gunshot wounds to the torso and legs. A woman was also injured with a gunshot wound to the limbs," he continued.

Security-camera footage of the attack aired on Israeli TV seemed to show several people running from a man, who is eventually shot several times by a responding officer.

In the footage, no weapon can be seen in his hand, and he looks to possibly be trying to escape as well.

Security camera footage showing an alleged attacker being shot in the Beersheba Central Bus Station on October 18, 2015. (screen capture: Channel 2)

The attack was the first on what had been an otherwise quiet day, following a weekend that saw seven stabbings or stabbing attempts in Jerusalem, Hebron and elsewhere, amid a spate of attacks by Palestinians terrorists.

The Central Bus Station in Beersheba was later shut, and security personnel were searching the site for any additional threats.

Bus and train services in the area were halted as well, Channel 2 reported.

An eyewitness told Channel 2 news the attacker was able to enter the bus station - which doubles as a commercial center - fairly easily, despite bolstered security forces throughout the country amid the terror wave.

Earlier Sunday, hundreds of Palestinian protesters in two locations of the West Bank city of Hebron hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli security, following several stabbing attacks that were carried out by Palestinians in the area over the weekend.

In the West Bank city of Tulkarem, about 100 rioters hurled rocks, burned tires and threw Molotov cocktails at Israel Defense Forces soldiers, who responded with nonlethal dispersal means. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Dozens of Palestinians also burned tires along the southern part of the Gaza Strip border fence, the Ynet news site reported.