(JTA) — A security guard shot dead a 46-year-old Jewish man whom he mistook for a terrorist near the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
The guard, a civilian employed by a private company, said the man had shouted “Allah hu akbar” (“God is great” in Arabic) and tried to extract an object from his pocket before the security guard fired his sidearm Friday morning, Army Radio reported.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the guard opened fire with his pistol because he suspected the man was a terrorist.
The 46-year-old man, who reportedly has no family in Israel and who was not identified by name, died 20 minutes later as paramedics were trying to stabilize him and treat his multiple gunshot wounds. He was the only person hit in the incident.
A man who knew the victim and was present during the shooting told Army Radio the man came to the Western Wall nearly every day and was a volunteer cook for the Chabad movement.
“I don’t understand why they shot him. Everybody knows him around here but he was alone because his family is in France,” said the man, whose name Army Radio did not reveal.
The interviewee also told Army Radio that the deceased was “very frustrated with the establishment.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
