A man opened fire at a popular hummus restaurant in Tel Aviv Thursday afternoon, leaving one employee with light to moderate injuries.
The injured employee was taken to the hospital by Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service paramedics, along with another person who was lightly injured in the incident. Police forces arrived at the scene and launched an investigation. No arrests have been reported so far, and all leads are being examined.
According to eyewitness accounts, the incident at the Abu Hassan restaurant in the city's Jaffa district followed an argument between a patron and the staff over dissatisfaction with the service. The patron left the restaurant, and shortly after, the shooting occurred, injuring one of the employees.
"The argument was really over trivial matters," one local told Ynet. "It should never have escalated to this point. Shooting at a well-known restaurant is another red line. The police must apprehend the shooter, who could have killed someone with his reckless actions."
"I always eat at this restaurant. They have delicious food, excellent service and respect," another resident said. "I condemn the shooting. The shooter must understand that what he did is nothing less than attempted murder. If he was unhappy with the service or anything else, he could have resolved it with a respectful conversation, not by shooting at a restaurant full of people. I will continue to eat at the restaurant, and this incident won't deter us. The police must catch him before he repeats this elsewhere. This time there were injuries, but next time it could end in murder."
A., who was at the restaurant during the incident, told Ynet that it occurred around 1:45 p.m. when the restaurant was quite full. "Suddenly, a car drove up and fired three shots toward the restaurant and its kitchen. There was panic, and people ducked and hid behind tables," he described.
"The employees started shouting that it was a drive-by shooting, and one of them, who was working in the kitchen, got hit in the leg, probably by shrapnel. I know these things happen, even in Jaffa, but it was strange because Abu Hassan is an institution."