2 killed, 4 wounded in Tel Aviv pub shooting

Two people were killed and at least seven wounded Friday when a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle on a pub and nearby cafe in central Tel Aviv, but the motive behind the attack was not immediately clear.

Undercover units and counter-terrorism units were working in different areas of Tel Aviv, Mr Rosenfeld said, adding that no specific warning of an attack had been received.

Security camera footage aired on Israel’s Channel 10 television showed the assailant, who appeared to be in his mid-to-late 20s and wore protective eyeglasses and a windbreaker, browsing dried fruit at a delicatessen on Dizengoff Street.

Nati Shakked, who owns the bar, said the gunman waited outside on a bench before taking the weapon out of a bag and “shooting in every direction”.

Gali Morag, who lives on Gordon St. opposite the scene of the shooting, says she heard shots and, looking out the window, saw a young man dressed all in black and with a woolen cap running down the street.

Large police forces arrived at the scene, located on a main Tel Aviv street. The police said an investigation is underway and that it is not clear whether that man is in any way connected to the bar shooting.

The shooters family members condemned the attack.

According to Haaretz newspaper, five others were injured in the attack, two of them seriously.

At least 21 Israelis have been killed in stabbings and shootings carried out by Palestinians.

Until now, most residents of Tel Aviv have felt that terror takes place somewhere else. That’s without counting the victims in Friday’s attack. They were standing next to the shattered windows of the bar where 26-year-old shift manager Alon Bakal and patron Shimon Ruimi, 30, died in a hail of bullets as the gunman calmly walked out of the adjacent health foods store and opened fire with a sub-machine gun.

Israel’s Arabs, who make up a fifth of the country’s 8.4 million population, enjoy full rights but have long complained of discrimination and unfair treatment in areas such as housing and employment opportunities. Two of the wounded are thought to be a in serious condition.