IDF says they killed 1 of the Jerusalem bus stop shooting victims by mistake
When Hamas militants opened fire at a Jerusalem bus stop Thursday morning, Hamas killed three of the victims, and an Israeli Defense Forces soldier at the scene mistakenly shot and killed the fourth victim, the IDF said.
The deadly incident unfolded around 7:40 a.m. local time when a pair of heavily armed assailants drove up to the bus stop, got out of their vehicle and opened fire on civilians, killing three and injuring others. Both gunmen were killed by two off-duty Israeli soldiers and armed Israeli civilian Yuval Doron Castleman who were near the scene, according to Israeli police.
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Israeli police identified the two suspects as brothers in their 30s from the Sur Baker neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Both Israeli police and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the gunmen as "terrorists."
Hamas claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting, saying in a statement that the attack was in response to Israel's "unprecedented crimes" including "brutal massacres" in Gaza and the killing of children in the occupied West Bank.
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The IDF said Friday that, during the attack, one of the IDF soldiers at the scene "mistakenly suspected" that Castleman, the armed Israeli civilian "who acted bravely and courageously to neutralize the terrorists," was a third terrorist.
"The same soldier also fired at him which led to his serious injury and tragic death," the IDF said.
The investigation of the attack continues," the IDF said. "We share in the grief of the family members of the late Yuval who acted bravely and saved lives, and in the grief of other families murdered in the attack and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured."