According to the Tunisian authorities, a police officer killed two participants in the annual pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue on Djerba island and two security service members before he was killed.
A police officer shot dead two people partaking in an annual pilgrimage to a renowned Tunisian synagogue, as well as two members of the security services, before he was killed on May 9, the Interior Ministry said.
According to the Ministry, four other visitors to the Ghriba synagogue on Djerba island and five more security officers were wounded in the attack.
In a statement, the Tunisian foreign ministry identified the two worshipers killed as a Tunisian, 30 years old, and a French national, 42 years old, but did not give their names.
The attack occurred after the assailant first shot a colleague dead and took his ammunition, according to the interior ministry.
In 2002, a suicide truck bombing targeted the synagogue and killed 21 people.
Local media outlets reported that the sound of gunshots at the synagogue had sparked panic among hundreds of pilgrims.
The Ghriba attack also comes as Tunisia goes through a severe financial crisis that has degenerated to the worse since President Kais Saied seized power in July 2021 and rammed through a constitution that gave his office unlimited powers and neutered parliament.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP.
