An American study abroad student who opened fire in an Eilat hotel, killing a
coworker before anti-terror police stormed the building, took his own life as
police closed in, according to the results of an internal police inquiry
released on Tuesday.
In the days after the October 5 shooting, police
said William Hershkovitz, a 23- year-old native of Poughkeepsie, New York, was
shot to death by officers of the police counterterrorism unit after he opened
fire on them as they moved into to arrest him.
On Tuesday, the national
police headquarters said: “The operations branch has presented the Police
inspector- general with the findings of a special task force set up to examine
how the police operated on that day and how they collaborated with IDF
anti-terror forces.
“The findings of the investigation indicate that the
hotel worker William Hershkovitz took his own life by shooting himself during
the raid by the anti-terror unit.”
Hershkovitz was in Israel as a part of
the Israel Way program.
Supported by the Jewish Agency, the program
brings Jews from around the world for volunteer work, study and internships.
Police said Hershkovitz was fired from his internship at the hotel kitchen the
day before he returned and shot and killed his former manager, Armando Abed,
from Mi’ilya, a Christian village in the Western Galilee.
Hershkovitz did
not try to take hostages or make any demands while holed up in the hotel
kitchen, police said.