Gunfire in Lod was heard simultaneously with a Religious Zionism party conference in the city, where party chairman Bezalel Smotrich was speaking. The party stated that "during a Religious Zionism residents' conference in Lod, gunfire was heard in the area from Arabs in the vicinity." Smotrich addressed the shooting and the phenomenon of weapons in Arab society in his remarks, telling residents: "This shouldn't only concern the people of Lod, it should concern all citizens of the State of Israel. One million weapons in the Arab rear of Israeli citizens, according to data provided to me by the Shin Bet, this is the threat to national security. This thing flips in a second from criminal to nationalist."