Be'er Sheva - Four dead in bank robbery; assailant releases hostage and shoots himself

Four people were killed, one seriously wounded and another lightly wounded on Monday during an armed robbery of a bank in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva. The two assailants held a woman hostage during a shootout with the police but eventually released her.

The standoff ended after one robber shot himself dead and another was wounded.

Initial details suggest that thieves entered a Bank Hapoalim branch at 1 P.M. and opened fire. The robbers clashed with police forces and one ultimately shot himself, while the other was wounded and was evacuated to the hospital.

Those wounded have been evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. Magen David Adom rescue services announced it as a multiple-casualty incident.

A woman outside the bank said, "I heard gunshots, went out and saw many ambulances arriving and numerous people assembling. I also understood that children were not being let out of school. Right now there are a lot of people here and about nine ambulances. I can see police inside the bank but I do not know what is going on inside. We were told to stay where we are."

In August 2011, a Bank Hapoalim security guard was killed during a robbery in Be'er Yaakov by a man who had arrived on a motorcycle. The assailant was later charged with carrying out various bank robberies in a "serial, unique and systematic manner" using a weapon.