Post date: May 20, 2013 3:25:33 PM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns an attack in the town of Beersheba that left five people dead.
BEERSHEBA, ISRAEL (MAY 20, 2013) (REUTERS) - A gunman killed four people execution-style in an Israeli bank on Monday (May 20) before shooting himself dead, Israeli media reports said, identifying him as a former paramilitary border policeman in debt to the bank.
Police initially described the incident as a robbery but later said the assailant shot his victims, in a branch of Bank Hapoalim in the southern city of Beersheba, without demanding any money, and apparently knew them. Three of the dead were reported to have been bank employees.Witnesses quoted by Israeli media said the gunman first killed the bank guard and then shot three people who lay on the floor, checking the pulse of one of them to make sure he was dead.
One of the witnesses, Yoram Perry, told Reuters he was walking outside the bank when he heard gunfire.
"I was at the square, I turned right opposite the bank and I heard shots. I looked to my left and I saw a man with a white beard who shot somebody at the entrance. I did not understand what was happening as I was in shock. I saw the man come out and go back in and ensure the person was dead - he shot him when he was on the floor. He then went back into the bank, went back in and fired bullets constantly," Perry said.
Police had no immediate comment on the gunman's identity or reports that he had visited the bank earlier in the day and had failed to reach an arrangement with its staff over a debt and had been refused money by its automatic teller machine.
Police special forces surrounded the bank, and a nearby school went into lockdown. The gunman, police said, shot himself when their forces raided the bank to free hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a "great tragedy" for Israel, where soldiers carrying weapons are a common sight but gun laws are strict for private individuals.
"It is not a common event in Israel. An attack like this must not (be allowed) to recur," Netanyahu said at a meeting of his Likud party faction in parliament.
Police initially announced that two gunmen had entered the bank and that one had been apprehended, but later said they were still investigating whether the second man was an accomplice.