Eritrean mistakenly shot during Israel attack dies

An Eritrean man mistakenly shot and beaten by a mob during an attack in the Israeli city of Beersheba has died, police said Monday, as a wave of violence spread fear among Israelis.

The attack on Sunday night at a bus station in the southern city saw a gunman also armed with a knife kill a 19-year-old soldier and wound around 10 other people.

The gunman was killed, while a security guard shot the Eritrean man thinking he was a second attacker. A mob also beat him, Israeli media reported.

Police identified the attacker as a Mohannad Al-Aqaby, 21, an Arab Israeli citizen from the area.

"During a raid last night, security forces and Shin Bet (internal security agency) arrested one of his family members, who was accused of providing support" for the attack, police said.

Video that spread online appears to show the Eritrean lying on the ground after being shot and being kicked in the head and body by angry bystanders.

More than two weeks of violence and unrest has raised fears of a full-scale Palestinian uprising, while some Israeli politicians have urged residents to arm themselves in the face of attacks.

Police have not said whether anyone was arrested over the shooting and beating of the Eritrean.

Israeli media described him as an asylum seeker, like many Eritreans who have come to Israel, though authorities have not confirmed those details.

Official figures show some 45,000 illegal immigrants are in Israel, almost all from Eritrea and Sudan. About two-thirds are Eritrean.
Source: AFP