While the assailant launched his attack at one end of the bus station, at the other end police opened fire on an Eritrean asylum seeker, who has been named as Haftom Zarhum, 29, by the Haaretz newspaper, and as Mila Binsamo 26, by the Jerusalem Post. It is unclear why police opened fire or believed him to be one of the attackers, though initial reports from the scene included rumors of a second attacker.