JERUSALEM — An American opened fire in the dining room of a hotel in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat on Friday and killed a kitchen worker before being shot dead by police officers, the authorities said.
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Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, did not identify the gunman, but described him as a tourist who “might have worked” at the hotel, the Leonardo Club.
Mr. Rosenfeld said the man grabbed a pistol from a hotel security guard around 9:30 a.m. and fired several shots in the crowded dining area before storming into the kitchen, where he killed the worker, who also was not identified by the authorities.
The gunman then “barricaded himself in the kitchen,” inspiring police fears of a hostage situation. About 10:15 a.m., antiterror police units “moved in on the suspect and he opened fire again,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
It turned out that no hostages had been taken and no one else was injured in the incident, Mr. Rosenfeld said, making it seem more like a workplace dispute than a terrorist attack. The circumstances of the situation and the gunman’s background are still being investigated.
Mr. Rosenfeld said he did not know where in the United States the gunman was from or how long he had been in Israel and for what reasons.
The shooting occurred during the holiday of Sukkot, when Israeli schools and many offices are closed. It is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Eilat and the hotel was fully booked.
[h=4]Connect With Us on Twitter[/h]Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.
Twitter List: Reporters and Editors
Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, did not identify the gunman, but described him as a tourist who “might have worked” at the hotel, the Leonardo Club.
Mr. Rosenfeld said the man grabbed a pistol from a hotel security guard around 9:30 a.m. and fired several shots in the crowded dining area before storming into the kitchen, where he killed the worker, who also was not identified by the authorities.
The gunman then “barricaded himself in the kitchen,” inspiring police fears of a hostage situation. About 10:15 a.m., antiterror police units “moved in on the suspect and he opened fire again,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
It turned out that no hostages had been taken and no one else was injured in the incident, Mr. Rosenfeld said, making it seem more like a workplace dispute than a terrorist attack. The circumstances of the situation and the gunman’s background are still being investigated.
Mr. Rosenfeld said he did not know where in the United States the gunman was from or how long he had been in Israel and for what reasons.
The shooting occurred during the holiday of Sukkot, when Israeli schools and many offices are closed. It is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Eilat and the hotel was fully booked.