HAARETZ, JERUSALEM POST, ISRAEL RADIO (Israel)
EILAT – A U.S. tourist opened fire in an Israeli hotel resort on the Red Sea coast Friday, killing one person.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Israeli counter-terrorism units arrived on the scene after the gunman barricaded himself in the kitchen. Counter-terrorism units subsequently killed him in an exchange of gunfire.
The gunman, a 23-year-old American man from New York had been working in the kitchen at the Leonardo Club Hotel in Eilat, southern Israel, as part of a work and study program for American youth in Israel. Haaretz believes his job at the hotel was recently terminated.
According to Israel Radio, cited by Jerusalem Post, the incident began with an argument between the American citizen and another hotel employee. After a security guard attempted to break up the quarrel, he snatched the guard’s gun and shot the other employee.
Eyal, a guest at the hotel, said: “We were in the dining room, and suddenly we heard shots fired. Both guest and hotel workers were very frightened. No one understood what was going on. Ten seconds later the dining room was blocked off and we were asked to go to our rooms and stay inside,” Haaretz reports.
The gunman has not been named so far, although the victim of the shooting was allegedly a man in his fifties. Two others were also taken to hospital, suffering with shock.
