Sharon Teen Killed During Attack In Israel
BOSTON (CBS) -- An 18-year-old man from Sharon was killed during an attack in the West Bank Thursday.
A Facebook post by the American Jewish Committee identified the victim as Ezra Schwartz.
Schwartz, an American citizen, graduated from Maimonides High School in 2015 and was spending a gap year in Israel, the school confirmed.
"The entire Maimonides School community is profoundly saddened as we mourn the tragic loss of our recent graduate Ezra Schwartz, Class of 2015, who was murdered in a terrorist attack today in Israel," Naty Katz, head of the Maimonides School said. "Ezra was spending his gap year studying in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ezra's family, classmates and friends."
Schwartz was also a camp counselor at Camp Yevneh, a Jewish summer camp in New Hampshire.
"He was a sweetheart of a guy," said camp director Debbie Sussman.
Sussman described Schwartz's Israel trip as a "rite of passage."
"[He was] looking forward to going with friends, learning, studying and doing acts of kindness," she said.
Four others individuals were killed in a pair of stabbing and shooting attacks carried out by Palestinians in Tel Aviv and the West Bank.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those Israelis and Americans murdered in this horrific attack," a spokesperson for the Consulate General of Israel to New England said in a public statement.
Schwartz was not the only Sharon native traveling in Israel. Chaiel Schaffel, a former classmate of Schwartz's, was in Jerusalem at the time.
"It hit him pretty hard," Alan Schaffel said of his son's reaction to Schwartz's death, "because it's not just a friend from school but a friend from Sharon."
Cantor Steven Dress at Temple Israel in Sharon where Schwartz was once a member of the youth group also reacted to the devastating news.
"It's automatic that you feel connected. We have members here who played ball with him, with his siblings. So, it's heart wrenching," Dress said.