Mass. teenager killed in attack while studying in Israel
An American citizen from Massachusetts was one of five people killed in a pair of attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank Thursday.
The American has been identified as 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz of Sharon, according to the Times of Israel. He was spending a gap year in Israel after graduating from Maimonides School in Brookline in June, according to a statement from the school.
“The entire Maimonides School community is profoundly saddened as we mourn the tragic loss of our recent graduate Ezra Schwartz, Class of 2015, who was murdered in a terrorist attack today in Israel,’’ the statement said. “Ezra was spending his gap year studying in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ezra’s family, classmates and friends.’’
In addition to Schwartz, two other men were killed in the shooting, bringing the day’s death toll to five. Several others were wounded in the West Bank attack.
The first of Thursday’s attacks was in Tel Aviv, where a Palestinian man stabbed and killed two men in an office building before police apprehended him.
The second attack, which killed Schwartz, was a shooting in the West Bank in Gush Etzion, an area south of Jerusalem. Police said that a Palestinian man drove by a line of cars sitting in traffic and fired multiple bullets before “intentionally’’ crashing into a group of people. Military forces at the scene fired at and hit the attacker, but the extent to which he was injured was not known.
Schwartz was on his way back from handing out food to soldiers when he was shot, according to a statement from Camp Yavneh, where Schwartz was a former camper and counselor.
“We offer our deepest condolences to his parents, Ari and Ruth, and his siblings Mollie, Hillel, Elon, and Avi,’’ the statement said.
Ezra Schwartz
The Consulate General of Israel to New England also offered support for the victims through a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those Israelis and Americans murdered in this horrific attack.’’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attacks in a Facebook post.
“The murderous terror has struck Gush Etzion and Tel Aviv,’’ he said. “My heart is with the families of the murdered and I send my wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded.’’
The alleged shooter has been identified as 24-year-old Mohammed Abdel Basset al-Kharoub, who is from a village in the West Bank, the Times of Israel reported. Police said the man responsible for the earlier stabbings is a 36-year-old Palestinian man from another West Bank village.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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