SF vigil held for Tel Aviv shooting victims
by Ed Walsh
About 100 people turned out in San Francisco Monday evening for a vigil and rally in support those who were killed and wounded over the weekend during a shooting at a gay youth center in Tel Aviv.
The shooting suspect is still at large, and Israel’s leaders have denounced the incident as a hate crime.
August 1 had been a typical hot summer day in Tel Aviv. It was Saturday, the Sabbath. The day most Israelis spend with family. But late on Saturday nights is usually the time to be with friends.
Sixteen-year-old Or Gil was with his friends last Saturday, August 1, around 11 p.m. The place was a community room at a gay youth group in central Tel Aviv. He was listening to music and chatting.
Gil had no warning that the tranquil Saturday night would end in inconceivable horror.
He saw a man dressed in black enter the room. He was wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun. Gil thought it was a joke. He thought the gun was a toy. He thought one of his friends was in costume as some sort of a bad prank. But then the man started shooting.
A bullet pierced Gil’s knee. According to the Jerusalem Post, one of Gil’s friends dragged him under a table, but he was only partially shielded. A second bullet struck him in the shoulder.
He is expected to be released from the hospital in days but doctors don’t know whether he will walk again.