Israel's Consul General In LA Describes Terrorist Attack In Tel Aviv As 'Horrific'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — After a deadly shooting killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv, a leader in Los Angeles says the terrorist attack needs to be roundly condemned.
The deadly shooting happened in an open-air market in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, an area that is among the hippest and trendiest in the city.
Security footage from inside that market showed a crowd scrambling for cover as two gunmen shoot their victims at point-blank range.
One of the men eventually threw his gun to the ground and both took off.
Cellphone video showed an Israeli officer firing off his weapon as the gunmen try to escape. Four people were killed, others were injured, and the suspected gunmen were captured.
"This was a horrific attack," said David Siegel, the Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles, adding that the terrorist act needs to be roundly condemned.
"If you see that film footage," he said, "people were shot in the back. These were terrorists that walked into a crowded restaurant with families and kids and sprayed gunfire everywhere."
The suspected gunmen were described by CBS News as Palestinian and are from the same village in the West Bank.
Israeli media says both were wearing suits, disguised as Orthodox Jews. One was shot but is expected to live.
"You see, right now, the terror groups are hailing it as a victory so we have to do what we need to do to defend our people," he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian-Americans living in LA worry there will be backlash from Israeli security forces as the investigation into the attack continues.
"If history is our benchmark, then yes, it's always tit-for-tat from both sides. Some more and some less," said Shakeel Syed, a board member of American Muslims for Palestine.
"If the reports are true that these people are from Hebron, I would only assume that these two individuals have reacted in total desperation because of the continuous occupation of their land," Syed said, adding that any loss of life is tragic.
The attack followed more than seven months of terrorist stabbings in Israel, which had slowed in recent weeks.
