Explosions rocked two bus stops in Jerusalem while Israelis commuted during rush hour Wednesday morning, leaving a teen dead and at least 14 people injured.
A 16-year-old boy killed in one of the blasts has been identified as Aryeh Shechopek, a Canadian citizen.
“Heartbroken to confirm that a young Canadian lost his life in this morning’s reprehensible terror attack in Jerusalem,” Canadian Ambassador to Israel Lisa Stadelbauer tweeted. “Our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to others wounded in this attack. Canada continues to condemn all forms of terror.”
The first explosion occurred just after 7 a.m. local time at a busy bus station. Israeli police suspect that a bag with explosives was detonated remotely. Another explosion hit a second bus stop minutes later, wounding two.
“U.S. Embassy condemns in strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attacks on public locations in Jerusalem and offers sincere condolences to the victims and their loved ones,” the American Embassy in Jerusalem tweeted. “We are closely monitoring the situation. Terrorism is a dead-end that accomplishes absolutely nothing.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides called the explosions “cowardly terrorist attacks” in a statement posted to Twitter.
“My heart breaks for the families of those who were harmed,” he added.
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Police are continuing to investigate and were looking for additional explosive devices in Jerusalem while raising the city’s alertness level.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid conducted a security assessment along with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and other officials. Incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited injured victims at a local hospital.
Fox News’ Yonat Frilling and Karen Liel contributed to this report.
