A shooter has opened fire in downtown Tel Aviv, killing two Israelis and wounding others, hospital officials said.
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It was not yet clear whether the attack was an act of terrorism or was criminal in nature.
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Belgian police said late on Thursday three people were being held for questioning as part of an investigation into the plot. Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said it was unclear whether the suspects are still in the city or even in Germany.
The attack took place at around 3:00 pm local time Thursday in one of the busiest areas of downtown Tel Aviv.
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The TV station’s defense analyst Alon Ben-David said the gunman was an Israeli Arab and that the attacker’s father had seen his son on television and notified authorities. The Associated Press could not independently confirm those details.
He said a shooter was “firing in every direction while he was running”.
Two surveillance videos aired by Israeli news media appear to show the attacker before and during the 2:40 p.m. shooting on a street popular for its shops, restaurants and bars.
Another relative, Ahmed Milhem, urged him to turn himself in.
Ayman Odeh, who heads the Joint List that groups the main Arab parties in parliament, said that “while not all the details of the incident are clear yet”, he “sharply and clearly” condemned any attack on innocent people. Tel Aviv police officers arrested at least one suspicious person near the scene. Large police forces were deployed at the scene.
The shooting comes amid more than three months of stabbing, shooting and vehicle attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. Palestinians have killed 19 Israelis and an American since the start of October, mostly in spontaneous stabbings or car-ramming attacks.
“Security forces and emergency teams” reportedly rushed to the scene of the attack.
Rosenfeld said several critically wounded victims were taken to nearby hospitals.
“What I know is that an individual came here and opened fire”, the mayor said. After injuring 10 people, two of whom died, the bespectacled young man in black fled.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear. “People who had guns in the area refused to shoot him”.
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Seven people were also wounded, two seriously, in the attack.
