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Five US citizens were injured during the shooting outside the Old City of Jerusalem, according to the US Department of State.
On August 14, a gunmen shot a bus on a street near the Western Wall and at a parking lot located near King David’s Tomb. The perpetrator reportedly waited for the bus’s arrival and fired the shots while passengers were boarding then attacked the parking lot before fleeing on foot to the nearby Silwan neighborhood.
According to the US State Department, the attack resulted in at least eight victims, including five U.S. citizens. All of them were wounded. Two people were seriously hurt, a pregnant woman was injured in the abdomen, a man got gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
Washington claimed the incident was a terrorist attack and condemned it.
“Our Ambassador to Israel and U.S. officials in Jerusalem are in touch with the families of the U.S. citizen victims, to whom we have offered our sympathies and support. The U.S. Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. Our team in Jerusalem has been working around the clock to support the victims and their families, and will continue to monitor the situation closely.” – the report by the US State Department reads.
The suspect was detained in several hours. He was identified as 26-year-old Amir Sidawi. It remains unclear if Sidawi is linked to any Palestinian faction.
