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Shooter Itamar Alon
Police breaking into branch

Video of Beersheba bank shooting released

Footage shows shooter Itamar Alon firing gun at security team, police evacuating dead, wounded, officers securing area before Alon's suicide; 'images are chilling; they make the pain harder to bear,' says woman who was held hostage

The police cleared for publication on Wednesday the surveillance cameras' footage from the massacre in Hapoalim Bank branch in Beersheba on Monday.

 

Security camera catches bank shooting    (מצלמות אבטחה)

Security camera catches bank shooting

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The footage shows shooter Itamar Alon standing in the entry with his gun drawn, police officers breaking in and the evacuation of the wounded and of hostage Miriam Cohen following Alon's suicide.

 

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Alon arrived at the branch on Monday morning and argued with branch manager Avner Cohen and other employees, after he failed to withdraw cash due to a NIS 6,000 ($1,640) debt to the bank.  

 

Around 11:30 am, he returned with his personal firearm and killed four people. He also took a bank employee hostage, but released the woman about an hour into the incident and then killed himself.

 

Order of events:

12:59. Alon is documented at the branch's entrance holding his Glock pistol, after killing four and seriously wounding another. He is seen firing another shot.


 

13:02. A security team arrives at the scene with guns drawn. They assume the incident is a robbery gone wrong, and one of them is seen calling the police headquarters.

 

13:03. Alon shoots toward one of the men who attempted to enter the branch and they withdraw. Police officers start preparing outside the bank.


 

13:08. Beersheba police chief Tomer Badash arrives, wearing blue uniform. He calls at the shooter and sees the wounded inside. The sound of the wounded groaning can be heard.

 

13:08. Badash enters the branch with several officers covering him. Footage shows Badash crouching in the corner while more officers enter. At this point they are still unsure whether it is a robbery, a terrorist

attack or a different incident altogether.

 

13:12. Officers remove one of the bodies and return.

 

13:13. Footage shows a police doctor treating the injured. The body of Anat Even-Haim is brought out on a chair.


 

13:14. While evacuating the wounded and dead, the police chief hears the voice of a woman, Michal Ben Shitrit, calling for help. After she says she is alone they evacuate her as well.

 

13:16. Critically wounded Omar Walid is evacuated, then taken to a hospital handcuffed and escorted by police.

 

13:17. Police officers continue searching the premises. One camera shows the police chief entering the back entrance with other officers to secure the area.

 

13:18. Police realize Alon has barricaded himself with a hostage. One officer fires toward the bathroom where the shooter has locked himself in. Bullet hits wall near door. Negotiation team arrives but fails to initiate dialogue after Alon does not respond.

 

14:02. Alon kills himself. Hostage is released.

 

'Chilling images'

"The images are chilling; they make the pain harder to bear," said Miriam Cohen, who was held hostage by the shooter. "It takes me back to the images of the bodies and what happened behind the scenes while I was trapped. I wanted to forget this day, but it'll be hard now.

 

"You can't ignore the pain that you see in the footage and I have no words to explain what I'm going through when I see it."

 

"I remember they asked the killer to step outside and only then realized I was there. Their work was impeccable. They communicated with him in soothing tones but he wouldn’t talk to them. When I tried talking to him I also couldn’t communicate with him," she added.

 

Michal Ben Shitrit, an employee of the bank who was hiding in her office when the shooting was taking place said: "Now I know everything. You can see the segment of them pulling me out. It was officer Tomer Badash, whose name I learned later. I heard (police) come in, but I didn't come out so I don't find myself in the middle of the shooting. I let the police know I was there and they took me out.

 

"I'm trying to synchronize the shooting I heard from my office with the video time code. He came near my office, but probably couldn’t see me because something was distracting him. I have a glass wall and I could see him through it. In the video I could recognize his clothes, his steps, his slow and indifferent walk. He knew what he was going to do," Ben Shitrit said.

 

In a police event, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said that the video shows "how police went in, risking their lives and stopping the killing spree. We saw police heroism and determination. We saw police officers risking their lives in order to save the lives of others."

 

 

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פרסום ראשון: 05.22.13, 20:36
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