A terrorist shooting attack took place on Sunday just after 2:30 p.m. at the central bus station in Beersheba. The attacker, an Arab-Israeli resident of a nearby Bedouin village, went from store to store, reportedly targeting a McDonald's before being overpowered. He was apparently donning a ceramic vest, witnesses said.
Medics and paramedics from Magen David Adom were providing medical treatment on-site to three injured individuals with varying degrees of injuries. According to first responders, at least two were initially reported to be in critical condition, with another person also reported wounded. The shooter was successfully neutralized, but police forces from the Southern District were at the scene, searching for accomplices, saying that "the situation is still active." Only about half an hour later the area was declared clear. The lone gunman was named as a Ahmed Suliman Al-Ukbi.
Video: Security cameras capture the attack in Beersheba / Credit: Courtesy
Later it the number of casualties rose to 10, with one being in critical condition and two others with moderate wounds. At around 3 p.m., one fatality was pronounced dead: a woman in her 20s. She was later named as Shira Suslik, a Border Police officer from Beersheba. She leaves behind three brothers and parents. The attack comes a day before Israel observes the first year of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, when thousands of Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and murdered some 1200 Israeli residents, resulting in the Swords of Iron War.
Video: Shira Suslik in a recent post
