Police: Gay center shooting suspect incriminates himself
Court extends by 11 days remand of three suspects in deadly 2009 attack on gay center; police say shooting not a hate crime, main suspect defected from IDF day after attack, became agitated when told there was evidence against him
Investigators believe one of the suspects in the deadly 2009 shooting at the Barnoar gay youth center in Tel Aviv opened fire inside the center and killed Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trubeshi, 16. Eleven other people were injured in the shooting attack. Police believe two other suspects aided the shooter.
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Thursday extended the suspects' remand by 11 days.
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A fourth suspect, a well-known figure within the LGBT community, was arrested overnight.
Police officials said the shooting is not defined as a hate crime, adding that the suspects were under surveillance for months. The police representative at the remand hearing said the main suspect incriminated himself during his interrogation and became agitated after being told there was evidence against him.
The police representative said a day after the shooting the main suspect defected from the army for a period of four months.
Main suspect in court (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
He said the other two suspects who were brought to the courthouse for the remand hearing had conspired to commit the crime. "They were partners in crime before and after the incident," he said.
According to the police representative, the preparations for the shooting attack lasted one or two weeks.
Another suspect (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
He said the suspects committed numerous offences while they were under police surveillance, including breaking into vehicles and arson.
Two of the suspects were arrested Wednesday after being taken off a truck on a main thoroughfare in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. They are suspected of murder, attempted murder, conspiring to commit a crime and other offences – including illegal possession of firearms, arson, theft and drug-related offences.
Nir Katz and Liz Trubeshi (Photos: Shaul Golan, Adva Naftali)
All three suspects have denied the allegations.
Police believe the motive for the murder was a personal dispute and that the shooter was seeking revenge.
Investigators estimate the fourth suspect has valuable information related to the investigation, but was not suspected of involvement in the shooting itself. Police also believe he is connected to a separate offence committed in the distant past.
Katz and Trubeshi were killed on August 1, 2009 when a veiled man entered the Barnoar gay youth center in Tel Aviv and opened fire at the people gathered there.
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