2 killed in Tel Aviv shooting

A shooting incident occurred at a meeting place for the GLBT community in Tel Aviv late Saturday evening, and paramedics have reported two people dead. At least ten people have been wounded, six of them seriously.

The incident took place at a time during which teenagers belonging to the GLBT community were holding a meeting. At around 10:40 pm shots were heard at the meeting place in central Tel Aviv. A man dressed in black was spotted by eyewitnesses fleeing the scene, and he was later spotted again on a nearby street.

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".

Police have cleared the surrounding roads in order to allow ambulances to evacuate the wounded.