Authorities have identified the victim in Sunday’s deadly terrorist shooting attack in the Old City of Jerusalem as Eliyahu David Kay, a new immigrant to Israel from South Africa.
Kay, an employee of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, working as a tour guide in the Old City. He was engaged to be married.
A native of Johannesburg, Kay had studied at Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand.
Kay will be laid to rest at Jerusalem's Har HaMenuchot cemetery Monday, at a funeral service set to begin at 11:00 a.m.
Avi and Devorah Kay, Eliyahu's parents, immigrated to Israel with their daughter, Na'ama, less than a year ago, moving to the city of Modi'in. The family made aliyah after Eliyahu and his brother moved to Israel.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation and the chief rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, eulogized Kay in a statement Sunday afternoon, saying that Eliyahu would give all those who visited the Western Wall plaza a warm welcome and did his work with dedication and loyalty.
Sunday’s attack left three other people wounded, one of them in moderate-to-serious condition, with two others lightly wounded.
The attack occurred near the Chain Gate, near the Western Wall.
The terrorist was shot and eliminated by security forces on the scene.
After being wounded in the attack, Kay was rushed to Hadassah Medical Center on Mount Scopus, where he was later pronounced dead.
A preliminary investigation into the attack found that the terrorist opened fire with a submachine gun. A knife was also found on the terrorist's person.
Police believe that another terrorist may have been involved in the attack, and that he escaped the scene. Police are conducting searches for him.
The terrorist was identified as a resident of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, and a member of the Hamas terrorist organization.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, offered her condolences, tweeting: "Heartbroken by news of the attack in Jerusalem, where I just returned from a meaningful visit. My deepest condolences to the families of those injured and killed."