Gunman Kills Four in a Bank in Southern Israel

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/world/middleeast/gunman-kills-four-in-bank-in-southern-israel.html

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An unemployed former security guard shot and killed four people in a bank in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Monday hours after the bank had refused his request for financial assistance, the police said. The gunman committed suicide after holing up in the bathroom of the bank with a female hostage for about an hour. The hostage escaped unharmed. The gunman, who lived nearby, had visited the bank in the morning and, according to the Israeli news media, found that his account had been blocked because of a debt. He returned later and killed the bank manager, his deputy and two clients. Random shootings of this kind are rare in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the event as “a terrible tragedy,” adding, “I cannot remember such an incident, certainly not in recent years.”