Brother of gay center shooting suspect: Real killer a psychopath
Speaking to Ynet, brother of main suspect in Barnoar shooting spree claims investigation based on false information. 'My brother is a good kid with a gentle soul,' he says
"They didn't do it. There is no way my brother would be involved in such an incident," said the brother of the main suspect in the deadly shooting attack at the Barnoar gay youth center in Tel Aviv four years ago.
Speaking to Ynet on Sunday, the brother criticized the police investigation into the shooting, claiming it was based on false information. "The man who fed (the information) to police sat in jail himself. He sold them all kinds of stories and they bought it. It is inconceivable that what they claim actually happened," said the brother.
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Last week, police arrested three people in connection with the shooting attack, in which Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trubeshi, 16 – were killed when a hooded gunman entered the youth center and opened fire. Police believe two other suspects aided the shooter.
Investigators suspect the motive for the murder was a personal dispute and that the shooter was seeking revenge.
Suspects arrested in Bnei Brak (Photo: Shuki Lerer)
The brother said the 'real perpetrator' must be a psychopath. "A person who does such a thing is insane. I know my brother. He is a good kid with a gentle soul who never got into trouble with the police. He has a good heart. The police should check the facts again. He wasn't even here with us in 2009. He could not have committed the murder," the suspect's brother claimed.
Shortly after the arrest of the three suspects, police arrested a well-known figure in the gay community who is suspected of committing crimes that led to the deadly shooting at the Barnoar youth center. Investigators believe the shooting was an act of revenge and are trying to ascertain whether the prominent LGBT activist knew the shooter's identity.
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Sunday extended by two days the remand of the LBGT activist, who is suspected of obstructing the police investigation.
Judge Ido Druyan ordered that the suspect's name remain under a gag order, but criticized the police, the defense attorney and the media for referring to the fourth suspect as a "senior figure in the gay community."
"It's unclear who came up with the term 'senior member of the community' – a term that conjures an image of a secret and malicious group, like the Elders of Zion, which has senior and junior figures who take part in an organization that is kept hidden from the public," the judge wrote.
He urged everyone concerned to refer to the suspect as an "activist" or a "known figure in the community" in order to eliminate the unfavorable connotation.
While most details of the investigation into the deadly shooting spree are still under a gag order, it is believed that the shooter opened fire indiscriminately when he did not find his target - the activist - at the Barnoar youth club.
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