Three killed in shooting at Tel Aviv gay center

A gunman shot dead three people and wounded at least twelve others in an attack at a central Tel Aviv gay and lesbian center Saturday night before fleeing the scene.

Israel Police said that the incident at the club on Nahmani Street did not have a terror motive. Two victims were initially identified as a young man and a young woman.

Witnesses told Israeli television that the black-clad, masked gunman stormed into the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association building and opened fire in a basement room where gay teenagers were holding a weekly support group.

Most of the casualties were minors, a police spokesman said, adding that the assailant was believed to have used an automatic weapon such as an M-16 rifle.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104506.html

"Terror" doesn't just mean "Palestinian".

Still, this is kind of strange. Let's hope we find out more about the perp and his or her real motives.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277945034&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Three people were killed and 14 people were wounded - two seriously, three moderately and the rest lightly - in a shooting at the Bar Noir, a center for youth run by the Tel Aviv gay community, on Saturday night.

A forensic officer examines the body of a shooting attack victim in Tel Aviv, Saturday.

According to eyewitnesses, an unidentified assailant dressed in black opened fire from an automatic weapon inside the building, located at the corner of Nahmani and Ahad Ha'am streets, at approximately 10:40 p.m.

The attacker fled the scene after the shooting and a manhunt was underway for the shooter.

Police ordered the closure of all gay centers in the city as a precaution.

Police said it appeared the attack was criminally motivated, but they could not be absolutely sure.

Wow! So they don't think there's a terror motive because the shooting targeted gays.

Says a lot.

What in the hell does that mean? A jilted boyfriend?

I agree that it was a poor choice of wording but I think it's to distinguish a nationalistic crime and a hate crime.

Last thing I heard, they hadn't caught anyone yet, but if it turned out to be one of those religious extremists who've been incited by the hateful rhetoric coming from one or two MK's, wouldn't that be both a hate crime and terrorism with a political motive? I guess labelling it one or the other isn't too important, and it doesn't help the victims or their families. Poor kids...

Terrorism and politics are closely related topics, always have been.