Interior Minister Kamel Feki said the Djerba shooting is «a criminal act.» Police responded quickly near the Ghriba synagogue and neutralised the shooter in 112 seconds, he added during a press briefing on Thursday afternoon.
The shooter, a National Guard officer, gunned his colleague down at the Aghir Maritime Guard station with his personal weapon, before driving to the Ghriba synagogue on a National Guard quad bike.
He first took up position in the garden of primary school “Erriadh el-Jadida,» located in Souani, 200 metres from the synagogue.
He then waited for a traffic police vehicle to pass by before shooting randomly at the police and pedestrians in the middle of the street leading to the synagogue, at 8:13 pm.
Four victims fell near the synagogue, including two police officers and two worshippers participating in the Jewish pilgrimage. Three other police officers were injured in the attack.
The Minister commended the responsiveness and speed of the police who intervened in time to prevent the attacker from reaching the synagogue. He refused to answer journalists’ questions about the attacker’s motives.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse