Five people are dead after an apparent bank robbery in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba went tragically wrong yesterday.

Around lunchtime yesterday, an armed man entered a branch of Bank Hapoalim in a residential area. In the ensuing standoff with police, two bank employees and two customers were killed before the gunman killed himself.

While initial reports called the incident a botched robbery, subsequent information has revealed a slightly different picture. According to the Jerusalem Post, the gunman, 40-year-old former border guard Itamar Alon, had recently been denied an extension on his credit due to an outstanding debt.

The victims were branch manager Avner Cohen, deputy manager Meir Zeitoun, and customers Anat Evan-Haim and Idan Schnitzer Sabiri.