Yesterday evening around 7:30, the Beer Sheva Central Bus Station was the scene of panic as a gunman opened fire inside the station, killing a soldier, taking his rifle, and then shooting at others, wounding several, including policemen.  Many people were also treated for shock.  The terrorist was a Bedouin resident of the Israeli town of Hura, about 15 km outside Beer Sheva.  An Eritrean foreign national, who was reportedly mistaken as also being involved in the terror, was shot and injured  before being attacked by a mob of civilians venting their anger, fear, hatred.  In the end, he died in the hospital and was wrongly accused in the panic.  Police are also investigating this.

The bus station in Beer Sheva is a major transit point for thousands of Israelis every day, including Jews, Arabs, soldiers, students.  It is at the hub of the city center, which also has the central train station and a major shopping mall.  The station is situated near the Government Center.  Security is very selective and casual at the station, not like in Jerusalem.

Many Bedouins work and study in Beer Sheva, and have free access like any other resident and citizen, which they also are.  Such an attack by a fairly local resident brings an added dimension to the already heightened level of fear and mistrust, which is one of the goals of terrorism.