Guard shoots Jewish tourist in Jerusalem after mistaking him for Palestinian militant


JERUSALEM (AFP) -- An Israeli security guard shot dead a Jewish visitor at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, on Friday, apparently mistaking him for a Palestinian militant.

"There was a Jewish guy, an Israeli guy, who was in the bathroom area," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.

"He for some reason shouted 'Allahu Akbar'," Rosenfeld said. "A security guard drew his weapon and fired several shots at the suspect... He died from his wounds a few moments ago."

The shooting took place shortly before 8 a.m. as the plaza in front of the Wall filled with worshipers for morning prayers ahead of the start of the Jewish Sabbath at sundown.

The site was closed to the public for at least an hour afterwards.

Paramedic Zeevi Hessed told news website NRG that his team rushed to the scene as reports of a shooting came in. more

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Israeli warships open fire at Gaza fishermen

Egyptians continue to keep Gaza's only exit closed

Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer