Mary Jean Gardner, a 59-year-old British national who was studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was killed and about 50 people were wounded when a bomb weighing between 1-2 kilograms (2.2-4.4 pounds) exploded at 3 p.m. across the street from the Jerusalem Convention Center, near the Central Bus Station. The bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop next to Egged city bus #74. The explosion was caused by a bomb placed at a telephone booth near the bus stop. The victims had been standing at the bus stop or nearby when the device exploded.
Photo: Magen David Adom
Mary Jean Gardner was critically wounded as a result of the bombing, and rescue services transferred her to hospital, where doctors fought for her life for about an hour and ultimately were forced to declare her dead. The UK Foreign Office said that the woman's next of kin have been informed.
Scene of terrorist attack at the entrance to Jerusalem - Photos: MFA
David Amoyal worked at the kiosk at the bus stop where the bomb exploded. The kiosk had been rebuilt after being completely destroyed when a suicide bomber detonated next to it in 1994, and renamed "Pitzuz Shel Kiosk," which literally means "an blast of a kiosk." He saw a suspicious bag and told some youths who were nearby to move away while he called police. During his call, the bomb exploded. Amoyal was only a few feet away from the bomb when it detonated, and suffered moderate injuries.
Jerusalem Mayor Barkat: "It's important to return to our regular routines as quickly as possible. When terror attempts to disrupt our way of life, the best solution is to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Events in Jerusalem will not be cancelled and Jerusalem will not stop running. We'll continue to develop the city and its cultural events and I invite the city's residents and visitors to participate in the
Marathon which will take place this Friday."