A man who claimed he was "scared for his life" shot and killed an Arab man, and then shot and wounded a Jewish man in the heart of Jerusalem on Tuesday morning. The Jewish victim is in critical condition. Police have arrested a 48-year-old Jewish man who said that he shot three passersby in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Investigation of the incident indicated that, shortly after midnight, the shooter murdered an Arab man in Tzahal Square, near Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate. The victim, according to the suspected gunman, interrupted the attacker's meditation exercise and frightened him into thinking his life was in danger. An intensive care ambulance crew of Magen David Adom later pronounced the 30-year-old Arab man dead at the scene. Subsequent to the fatal shooting, at around 2:00 a.m., the suspect encountered a religious Jewish man at the intersection of Rabbi Kook and Nevi'im streets in downtown Jerusalem. The passerby reportedly asked for a cigarette, at which point the armed man shot him as well. Again, the suspect claimed he was "scared for his life." A Magen David Adom intensive care ambulance evacuated the injured man to the city's Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. In his interrogation, the suspect claimed that he also attempted to shoot a third passerby, but did not wound him. Police are investigating the shooter's motives. Preliminary conclusions indicate that he is psychologically disturbed.
