Tel Aviv, August 02: A masked man opened fire on a crowd in front of a gay community centre in Tel Aviv late on Saturday night, killing three people and wounding at least 10 others, Israeli emergency services said.
A young man and a young woman were killed on the spot while the third victim died in hospital and one of the wounded was in serious condition, they said.
The gunman, who was dressed in black, unloaded an automatic weapon on the young group of gays and lesbians at the entrance of the centre, located in the heart of Tel Aviv, and then ran away, witnesses said.
Tel Aviv Police chief Shahar Ayalon ordered the closure of a nearby gay bar in the city and urged such establishments to remain vigilant.
“We are only at the first stage of the investigation, we continue our search and we are not sure of the motive of this attack since the centre has not received any threats recently,” Ayalon said.
Representatives of the gay community believe it was a homophobic attack.
“It is not surprising that such a crime can be committed given the incitement of hatred against the homosexual community,” the president of Tel Aviv’s gay and lesbian community, Mai Pelem, told reporters.
Pelem was referring to verbal attacks against gays from the religious community.
–Agencies