Tel Aviv police hunt for gunman after deadly bar attack

Tel Aviv, Israel - Israeli police are hunting a gunman who killed two people and injured at least seven in an attack on a crowded bar area of Tel Aviv.

The attacker targeted the Simta pub at about 3pm on Friday on the corner of Dizengoff and Gordon streets, as bars filled with afternoon customers.

The suspect pulled what was described as an automatic weapon from a bag and fired indiscriminately into the street before fleeing the scene.

The attacker has not been formally identified and police said they were investigating "in all directions".

The New York Times reported that attention has focused on a 29-year-old Arab man from Arara, a northern Arab-Israeli town. Gilad Erdan, the minister of public security, would not confirm the man’s identity, but Israeli media said the man’s father, a volunteer Israeli policeman, had identified him from security camera footage.

Sami Melhem, a relative of the suspect and a lawyer, told the Times the suspect had been jailed for five years in the past for trying to seize a weapon from a soldier. He said the man had psychological problems and possibly an addition to drugs or alcohol.

One video posted on Youtube shows the suspect examining products in a shop before launching his attack, while another shows him firing in the street. Israeli police said they were examining the footage.

Witnesses described scenes of chaos to Middle East Eye.

“A man came in to shout to us all to lie down on the floor, and then we heard two shots, one that went right into the window and the other into another area,” said Moran Shafer, who had been sitting at cafe with friends. 

“Everyone suddenly pushed one another and tried to get down, the tables fell down and we tried to hide ourselves somehow behind the tables, or something else."

French tourist Alexandre Lambez told the AFP news agency: "I heard gunshots and turned around; I saw people rushing to the back of the cafe. I heard screaming and saw a man shooting. He was brown haired wearing a grey sweater and fled the scene.

"I immediately thought of the attacks in Paris,” he said, referring to an attack by the Islamic State group in November that killed 130 people at bars, a concert hall and the Stade de France stadium.

A witness at Rafinta bar told the Maariv website: “We were sitting outside... we suddenly started hearing five or six gunshots in close succession. Everyone who was on the street started to run like mad.

“We ran into the kitchen with the customers. We waited until the gunfire ended. One of the waiters told us that the gunfire had been directed into the bar."

Israeli authorities said the motive for the shooting, which came amid a wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis in recent weeks, was not immediately known.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed that officers were still searching for those responsible.

Israeli medics later said nine people had been taken two hospital, two of whom were cofirmed dead.

The dead were named as Shimon Ruimi, of southern Israel and Alon Bakal, the manager of Simta.

The city's mayor, Ron Huldai, said there were "no special instructions" for residents and asked the public to enable the security forces to continue their searches.

"We're still at the beginning of the incident, and I hope those responsible get caught," said Huldai.

Shlomi Azolei, another witness, told MEE: “It’s strange. We see this all the time in Jerusalem, but in Tel Aviv this is strange."