Israeli police: 2 killed, 5 wounded in suspected car-ramming
JERUSALEM (AP) — A suspected assailant rammed his car into several pedestrians in east Jerusalem on Friday, killing two people and injuring five others before being shot and killed, Israeli police said, the latest incident as violence rises in the contested capital.
The alleged car-ramming took place at a bus stop in Ramot, a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem. Tensions have soared in the Israeli-annexed eastern half of the city, following a Palestinian shooting attack on Jan. 27 that killed seven people in the deadliest attack in Jerusalem in over a decade.
The police did not identify those killed but the Israeli rescue service had previously said its medics were treating six people, including two children in critical condition undergoing CPR. It said two men, ages 27 and 30, were unconscious and in serious condition, while another two people were in moderate condition, including a 40-year-old man. Police said that an off-duty officer shot and killed the suspected attacker at the scene. There was no immediate word on his identity.
The Islamic militant groups Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the suspected attack but did not immediately claim responsibility.