In a tweet, Ministry of External Affairs official spokeswoman Arindam Bagchi said that India “strongly” denounced the terror assault in Israel’s Jerusalem on Friday night. He also expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.
According to Arindam Bagchi’s tweet, “We strongly condemn the terror attack in Jerusalem last night. We send our deepest condolences to the families of those who died and wish the injured a fast recovery.”
Arindam Bagchi’s remark comes after Israeli police reported that at least seven people were murdered and three were injured in a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday. Earlier, Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, expressed gratitude for India’s “wide support” following the terrorist incident in Jerusalem.
According to CNN, the attack occurred around 8:15 p.m. (local time) near a synagogue on Neve Yaakov Street.
Gilon stated on Twitter, “We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from #India in the aftermath of the terror assault in #Jerusalem on Jews going to synagogue on Shabbat. It killed seven people and injured three others. Women, men, young and old. Thank you to the officers who shot the terrorist.
The police confirmed in a statement that the shooting suspect was deceased when officers arrived on the scene. According to a preliminary report published by Jerusalem police, the incident is being investigated as a possible terror act, according to CNN. Police have identified the shooter as a 21-year-old East Jerusalem resident.
“As a result of the shooting attack, the death of 7 civilians was determined and 3 others were injured with additional degrees of injury,” CNN quoted police as saying.
According to CNN, the incident was termed as “one of the worst terror attacks in the past few years,” by police head Yaakov Shabtai. Five of the gunshot victims were declared dead at the scene, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency rescue agency. Five individuals were taken to hospitals, where a man and a woman were confirmed dead.