A Border Police officer was fatally shot, and at least 10 others were injured when a terrorist launched an attack at the Beersheva bus station on Sunday afternoon.

The officer was identified as Sgt. Shira Suslik, a 19-year-old Border Police officer from Beersheba. She was killed after the attacker burst into a McDonald’s within the city’s central bus station and began firing at those present.

The gunman, who was reportedly neutralized at the scene by IDF soldiers, was identified as Ahmad al-Uqbi, a 29-year-old Israeli citizen from the unrecognized Bedouin village of Uqbi near Hura. Authorities noted that he had a prior criminal record.

Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services reported that 10 individuals sustained injuries and were rushed to Soroka Medical Center. Among them, one woman was in serious condition, and four men were moderately wounded by gunfire.

Five others were reported to be in stable condition, having been injured by shattered glass or blunt force, while three additional victims were treated for severe anxiety, according to MDA.

Law enforcement officials are investigating whether the assault involved both gunfire and stabbing attempts by the assailant.

In November 2023, Suslik had shared her reflections on Instagram, marking her 19th birthday amidst wartime conditions. She expressed how the situation “gives even more meaning to the privilege I have to celebrate life in uniform, just over a month after kids my age were killed in battle for the state in the same uniform.”

In a statement, Israel Police confirmed that Suslik is survived by her parents and three siblings.

Tarin Yaakobov, who manages the McDonald’s branch where the attack unfolded, recounted to Ynet, “We heard gunshots and then we saw the terrorist spraying gunfire with his weapon. He shattered all the glass [windows]. We closed the door of the freezer and hid inside. We held the door closed so he couldn’t enter, and 15 minutes later we went back out.”

Boris Mento, an MDA paramedic, described the scene as “chaotic, with some of the wounded fleeing into nearby stores” within the bus station. He said first responders provided initial treatment to control the bleeding before transporting the injured to the local hospital.

Kan public broadcaster reported that al-Uqbi is related to Muhanad al-Uqbi, who also hailed from the same Bedouin village and was behind a deadly terror attack at the Beersheba bus station in 2015.

Following the attack, Transportation Minister Miri Regev called for the deportation of terrorists’ families, stating on Twitter, “The time has come for a deterrent punishment that prevents attacks on Israeli territory.”

Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman also tweeted in support of deporting terrorists’ relatives. He reminded the public that his party had previously proposed a bill on the issue, which had passed an initial reading but failed to progress further. He criticized the government for “wasting time” and stressed, “I call on the members of the government and the Knesset speaker to hold a special session of the Knesset plenum and to pass [the bill] this week. The blood of our brothers and sisters is not [spilled] in vain.”

Arab Ra’am party leader MK Mansour Abbas denounced the attack, stating, “Today a heinous crime was committed in Beersheba against innocent civilians. We condemn the attack, especially since the perpetrator is an Arab citizen from the Bedouin community in the Negev.”

He added, “This is not the way of Arab citizens who have shown civic, moral and legal commitment and abhorred any type of violence, and rejected any attempt to be dragged into taking part in acts of political violence.”

{Matzav.com Israel}