"The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack outside the Old City of Jerusalem that wounded at least eight victims, including at least five U.S. citizens. We wish all the victims a speedy recovery. We remain in close contact with our Israeli partners and stand firmly with them in the face of this attack," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a Sunday statement.
Earlier on Sunday, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides confirmed that Americans were injured in the attack. NBC reported that two of the victims, a pregnant woman and a man with gunshot wounds to his head and neck, were in a serious condition.
"Our Ambassador to Israel and U.S. officials in Jerusalem are in touch with the families of the U.S. citizen victims, to whom we have offered our sympathies and support," Price said, adding that "Our team in Jerusalem has been working around the clock to support the victims and their families, and will continue to monitor the situation closely."
Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, said that the report of the shooting towards a bus in the Old City of Jerusalem was received at around 1:24 a.m. on Sunday (22:24 GMT on Saturday). The suspected attacker initially fled the scene, but was soon arrested. He was reportedly identified as a 26-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem. His motives remain unknown.
According to Israeli media reports, a total of eight people were injured in the Sunday attack.