At least seven dead in Jerusalem synagogue attack, Israeli police say

Originally Published: 27 JAN 23 13:59 ET

Updated: 27 JAN 23 16:05 ET

By Richard Allen Greene, Hadas Gold and Amir Tal, CNN

    (CNN) -- Israeli police say at least seven people were killed and three were injured in a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday. The alleged shooter was also later killed by police forces, according to police.

"As a result of the shooting attack, the death of 7 civilians was determined and 3 others were injured with additional degrees of injury," police said.

The attack occurred around 8:15pm local time, near a synagogue on Neve Yaakov Street, according to a police statement, which added that the alleged attacker fled the scene in a vehicle and was killed after a shootout with police forces.

Police identified the gunman as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, saying in a statement that he appeared to have acted alone. East Jerusalem is a predominantly Palestinian area of the city, which was captured by Israel in 1967.

Images from the scene showed emergency services responding to the attack. Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was later pictured visiting the site on Friday evening.

The incident comes amid high tensions, one day after the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year, according to CNN records. On Thursday, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and wounded several others in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. A tenth Palestinian was killed that day in what Israel Police called a "violent disturbance" near Jerusalem.

The United States State Department on Friday condemned the "apparent terrorist attack" in Jerusalem "in the strongest terms."

"This is absolutely horrific," said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. "Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to those killed and injured in this heinous act of violence."

Patel said the US is "still gathering information" but that the US government is "in direct touch with our Israeli partners."

Patel said no change to the schedule of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's upcoming trip to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank was expected.

The European Union, France and the UK also condemned the shooting.

"I am appalled by reports of the terrible attack in Neve Yaakov tonight. Attacking worshippers at a synagogue on Erev Shabat is a particularly horrific act of terrorism. The UK stands with Israel," Neil Wigan, the British ambassador in Israel wrote on Twitter.

The EU ambassador to Israel, Dimiter Tzantchev, also condemned the "senseless violence," saying in his tweet, "Terror is never the answer."

And the French embassy in Israel tweeted that the incident was "all the more despicable as it was committed on this day of international remembrance of the Holocaust."

The-CNN-Wire
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