Two Killed in Tel Aviv Shooting at GLBT Hangout

Two people were killed and another 10 were wounded when an unknown assailant shot up a Tel Aviv GLBT hangout. At the time of the shooting a group of teens were meeting.

Ynet reports:

The police's Tel Aviv district commander, Major-General Shahar Ayalon, said the incident had not been preceded by threats to members of the community.

"For 15 years this place has served as a club belonging to the union for private rights. Today a teen meeting was taking place," he said. "At some point someone walked in and began firing left and right. The shooter escaped and we are searching for the suspect. We have no specific description of the suspect or the circumstances."

One eyewitness to the shooting said, "The place looked like a slaughterhouse." Another witness said the shooter had worn a mask. Civilians were warned to stay away from the area.

Eyal Amit, a member of the GLBT organization, told Ynet that many of the teens who met at the clubhouse had not yet informed their loved ones of their sexual orientation. "It's a very sensitive situation. What we know is that in order to get here one must come here especially. This was not some random shooting," he said.

Yaniv Weizmann, an activist for the GLBT community, told Ynet that "according to the assessments, this was a planned and deliberate act against the gay community".

As a precaution, Tel Aviv police shut down GLBT clubs throughout the city.

Israeli religious party Shas condemned the shooting:

“Murder, understandably, is against the Torah way. Any attack is against the religion of Israel.”

Shas tried to have Tel Aviv's gay festival shut down a couple months ago due to its "overt sexual messages." All of this leading this blogger to believe that Shas may not be as anti-gay as it is anti-sexy parties...

The OMV family sends its sincerest condolences to the families of the slain, and prays for a speedy and complete recovery for the wounded.

Refuah shlema. רפואה שלימה