Suspicion: Beersheba gunman killed 4 over NIS 6,000 bank debt
Initial probe into deadly shooting at Hapoalim bank branch reveals gunman was denied NIS 6,000 debt settlement a few hours earlier
An initial investigation into the murder of four people at a Hapoalim Bank branch in Beersheba on Monday revealed that the perpetrator, a Jewish resident of the city who later killed himself, was allegedly out for revenge after the bank did not agree to reach a settlement over a NIS 6,000 ($1,640) debt.
According to police, the man visited the branch in the morning hours, and, after his request was denied, he returned to the bank a few hours later and shot four people dead. Police are also checking whether the man, a former Border Guard officer of about 40 who also worked for the local municipality, was in financial difficulties.
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Three men and a woman were killed in what initially appeared to be a robbery at around noon at the Hapaolim Bank branch on Beersheba's Yohana Jabotinsky Street. Another person sustained moderate to severe injuries. A woman who was held hostage by the robber, but she was released unharmed an hour into the standoff.
An eyewitness told Ynet that the killer made certain that his victims were dead. "He even checked the pulse of one of them," said the eyewitness.
Scene of incident (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
Another eyewitness said the gunman "shot every man who sat next to me twice. One got two bullets in the back. No one tried to resist, they were all on the ground. Someone who lied on top of me, after he was shot, saved me."
Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg
Other eyewitnesses said the gunman shot the bank's security guard first, then replaced the magazine in his firearm and continued shooting. Police arrived at the scene relatively quickly, the eyewitnesses said.
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said at the scene of the shooting that it was not motivated by nationalistic hatred.
"The suspect who committed suicide at the end of the standoff is apparently a Jewish resident of Beersheba," Danino said. "Right now we are not in the possession of facts confirming there were other suspects."
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