Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Tunisia hotel attack: Witnesses describe moment gunman opened fire on tourists at beach resort

37 have been reported as killed so far in the attacks on two hotels in Sousse, by the Tunisian Health Minister speaking on local radio

Louis Dore
Friday 26 June 2015 18:20 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Former British tour tennis player, Ellie Makin, 22, has described how she "saw a guy get shot in the stomach and then another in the head", during the shootings at a Tunisian beachside hotel earlier today.

Miss Makin said "there was blood everywhere" as she fled the gunman on the beach, who was walking around with an umbrella prior to the shooting.

"All of a sudden he dropped the umbrella and had a gun, and he started shooting everyone to the right of me.

"He was to the right of me. I got up and just happened to look right and I saw the gun and the umbrella being dropped and then he started firing to the right.

"If he had fired to the left I don't know what would have happened. We're quite lucky."

37 have been reported as killed so far in the attacks on two hotels in Sousse, by the Tunisian Health Minister speaking on local radio. Another 36 have been reported injured.

She flew to Tunisia on Wednesday where she is staying in the Bellevue Park hotel.

She told ITV News: "There was screaming and people were running left, right and centre and scarpering.

"Then we ran into our hotel reception and we got told to move by hotel staff.

"The gunman was medium height, with black hair, top and black khaki trousers or shorts.

"I saw a guy get shot in the stomach and then another in the head. There was blood everywhere.

"I was terrified, overwhelmed, shaken up and shocked. There are no words.

"There have been people missing from our resort and others. It could have been a very different story if he had started shooting left instead of right."

Another tourist Olivia Leathley, 24, was with her boyfriend Mike Jones in her room at the hotel when she heard "loud bangs" from the beach.

They ran to the lobby of the hotel where they found a woman whose husband had been shot in the stomach in front of her.

Miss Leathley said: "All she said was that he'd been shot and that he was there bleeding on the beach and he was just saying, "I love you I love you", and then his eyes rolled back into his head. But at that point she was dragged away by people who were trying to keep her safe."

Another man, unnamed, told BBC News that he had been hit by a bullet in the arm, appearing to speak from outside a hospital.

"Someone firing a gun, and then I looked at my wife and she got up and ran, and as I turned a bullet just hit me in my arm, and I just ran to the sea," he said.

Anyone affected or concerned about family and friends can contact the Foreign Office helpline on 020 7008 0000.

Additional reporting PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in