Members of Israeli border police patrol near the scene of a security incident at an Israeli military base near Jenin in the West Bank, May 7, 2021. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

At least four people were killed by an Arab attacker in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Tuesday and the assailant was shot to death, police and emergency services said.

“It appeared to be a single terrorist who went on a stabbing spree,” police spokesman Eli Levy said on Israel’s Channel 13 TV. “A civilian took the initiative and shot and killed him.”

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said three women and a man were killed by the assailant, who carried out the attack at a petrol station and at an outdoor shopping center, and that at least two other people were wounded, one critically.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Israeli media reports said the assailant was an Arab citizen of Israel, but police did not immediately publicly identify him.

This story may be updated