Hired Gun Opened Fire at Gay Youth Center After Target Was Missing, Israeli Police Say

Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.

Israeli police have arrested four suspects in connection with the 2009 shooting of a Tel Aviv LGBT youth center that left two dead and dozens wounded.

The four suspects, three with criminal pasts and one a known gay activist, appeared before a Tel Aviv court on June 6, Hareetz reports.

Police believe the shooter was a hitman looking to kill the LGBT activist who is now being charged with obstruction of the investigation because he allegedly knew the motive for the murders and did not share this information with police.

During the incident four years ago, Liz Trubeshi, 16, and youth counselor Nir Katz, 27, were killed when a man opened fire inside the center; at least a dozen others were injured. The shooter and his two accomplices are believed to be "soldiers" in a large Israeli crime organization. When the activist wasn't found on the premises, the shooter opened fired against those present allegedly as a form of vendetta.

The investigation is still ongoing.


by Kilian Melloy , EDGE Staff Reporter

Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.

Read These Next