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Tel Aviv gay centre shooting

The Tel Aviv gay centre shooting resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to at least fifteen others at the Tel Aviv branch of the Israeli LGBT Association, at the "Bar-Noar", on Nahmani Street, on August 1, 2009. A 26-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were killed. Three deaths were mentioned in earlier reports of the incident but one has since been discounted; in 2020, shooting survivor Chen Langer died by suicide after following a long battle with PTSD resulting from the attack, becoming the third deadly casualty.

Shooting
On the evening of August 1 at around 23:00, an unknown person with firearms entered the Aguda building in Tel Aviv, opened fire on the crowd attending a "Youth Get Together" event, and immediately escaped by foot. Two people were killed, and fifteen were wounded. Police launched a search campaign to find the shooter, and in addition immediately closed most entertainment locations for the gay community that operated during the same time of the shooting for fear of additional shooting. The centre was small with one terrace, thus preventing anyone from escaping. Attendees instead hid under a bed and tables as shots were fired. The shooter was masked, dressed in black and used a pistol to carry out the attack. It was not believed his motive was related to nationalist terrorism. Police were also investigating leads that the attack may have been due to a personal feud. ==Victims==
Victims
The dead were named as 26-year-old Nir Katz from Givatayim and 17-year-old Liz Troubishi from Holon. One 16-year-old victim spoke of his fear that the shooting would cause an effect of enforced outing as parents find out their children are gay. == Investigation ==
Investigation
A manhunt was immediately launched in an attempt to locate the gunman. == Aftermath ==
Aftermath
A protest rally was held in Tel Aviv following the shooting, including lit candles, President Shimon Peres addressed the crowd, saying the shots fired at the gay and lesbian community "hurt all of us – as people, as Jews, as Israelis." Also attending the rally were Minister of Education Gideon Sa'ar, Minister of Culture Limor Livnat, Minister of Welfare & Social Services Isaac Herzog, various Knesset members, and Israeli singers such as Rita, Dana International, Ninet Tayeb, Keren Peles, Ivri Lider and Margalit Tzan'ani. In Jerusalem, members of the LGBT community lit candles at Zion Square in a tribute to the victims at a vigil. ==Legal==
Legal
Hagai Felician case Following a police investigation lasting nearly four years, three suspects were arrested. Their arrests were announced on 5 June 2013. A gag order was placed on the details of the investigation. The three suspects, all residents of Pardes Katz, a neighborhood in Bnei Brak, ranged in ages from 20 to 40. It was later announced that a prominent activist in the Israeli LGBT community had also been detained for questioning. The Jerusalem Post reported that the shooting was planned by two young men, one of whom believed his teenaged relative had been abused by an activist at the Bar-Noar center. After the shooting, the gunman and his accomplice fled into Tel Aviv. The pistol (a Tanfoglio 9mm) used by the killer was found by hikers in December 2012 and the suspects were arrested some months later. On June 11, the gag order was officially lifted. According to police, a few months before the killings, one of the suspects, then 15 years old, came to Bar-Noar struggling with his sexual identity. There he met with a veteran Bar-Noar figure, the fourth person to be arrested in the case. Hagai Felician, the teenager's relative, became aware that the teen had been seen a few times at Bar-Noar, and asked him what he was doing there. The teenager confirmed he had been going there, and that he was raped by the senior figure at the club. Felician allegedly decided to take matters into his own hands, and together with another suspect, Tarlan Hankishayev, and the state's witness, plotted to harm the activist. On the day of the shooting, Felician allegedly came to Bar-Noar looking for the activist. Unable to find him, Felician "lost it" and shot those present. On 23 June 2013, charges were dropped against the other two suspects. On 10 July 2013, Hagai Felician was indicted on two counts of murder. In February 2014, the prosecution's case against Hagai Felician collapsed after new information was uncovered that suggested that the state witness around whose testimony the case had been built had lied. Subsequently, the witness, who was identified in media reports as "Z" due to his identity being under gag order, was arrested on charges of fabricating evidence. On the 26th of February, Felician was released, although he was remanded to house arrest until April 2. On March 9, 2014, all charges against Felician were dropped. Yaakov Felician rape case On 24 June 2013, it was cleared for publication that Felician's brother, Yaakov, had been arrested on rape charges, and was suspected of raping a female attorney who had applied to serve as part of Hagai's defense team. Under police interrogation, Yaakov Felician claimed that the attorney had only filed a rape complaint after he did not hire her to serve on his brother's defense team. He was released to house arrest after a polygraph test reportedly claimed he was being truthful, although polygraphs are widely considered pseudoscientific and cannot be used to determine truthfulness of statements. ==Reaction==
Reaction
with a black "mourning ribbon". This flag was common after the shooting as a mark of mourning and identification with the victims. Political reaction The murderous event was broadly covered by the Israeli media, and was widely condemned by many public figures. President Shimon Peres reacted to the murder, stating that "[t]he horrifying murder that was carried out yesterday in Tel Aviv, against teenagers and young people, is a murder that civilized and enlightened people cannot accept. Murder and hatred are the two most serious crimes in society. The police must exert great efforts in order to catch the despicable murderer, and the entire nation must unite in condemning this abominable act." Peres called the culprit a "lowly criminal" and urged the police to apprehend him quickly. He condemned the murder at the opening of his Cabinet meeting and expressed his "shock and dismay," condemning the "shocking murder" and reminding Israeli citizens that "we are a democratic and tolerant country and we must respect every person as he is." at the San Francisco LGBT Center organized by the LGBT Alliance of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma Counties and the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay. Rabbi Camille Shira Angel from Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, among others, spoke in condemnation of the violence. On August 31, 2009, a cousin of Nir Katz organized a candlelight vigil with the Vancouver Hillel Foundation in honor of the victims at the Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The evening's service drew about 100 people and served as a rally against hate crimes. This vigil also served to mark Shloshim, which in the Jewish tradition is a service to mark the end of the 30-day mourning period following the death. A video recording of this vigil can be found on YouTube.com under the title "Vancouver Vigil – In Memory of Nir Katz (1983–2009) Parts 1 through 5". A separate vigil was held in Toronto. A rally to condemn the shootings was held in Berlin. ==See also==
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