The building targeted by an Israeli strike in the Cola neighborhood of Beirut on Sept. 30, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine)
Armed individuals fired bursts from automatic weapons Sunday night at a cafe in the Cola neighborhood in southern Beirut, wounding several people. Videos shared on social media show about a dozen people gathered near the scene of the incident and high tensions in the area.
According to local channel MTV, four people were wounded in the shooting, two of them seriously. At least one person reportedly opened fire directly on customers inside the cafe.
Security forces arrested a suspect and were seeking to apprehend others to determine the circumstances and motives of the shooting, according to the same source.
The Internal Security Forces' intelligence branch and the army's intelligence directorate cordoned off the targeted cafe, while soldiers were deployed in the area.
Ibrahim Mneimneh, a Beirut MP who emerged from the Oct. 17, 2019, protest movement, reacted to the incident, noting that it comes just days after the killing of a Future Movement official in Burj Abi Haidar.
"Uncontrolled weapons threaten the safety of residents in their streets and neighborhoods," he said on X, calling on Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar to present "a clear plan in the coming days" to restore security, combat uncontrolled weapons and ensure the state has a monopoly on arms.
"We will not accept that Beirut be left to fend for itself," he added.
