[6][7][8][9] In June 2013, Hagai Felician was charged over the murder, but the police retracted its allegations in March 2014, after revealing its key witness fabricated evidence.

On the evening of August 1 at around 23:00, an unknown person with firearms entered the Aguda building in Tel Aviv, opened fire on the crowd attending a "Youth Get Together" event, and immediately escaped by foot.

[3] The city's gay community stated the killer had a homophobic motive, while police criticized them for rushing to make declarations about prejudice being the cause.

[13] Police shut down all other gay clubs and buildings that had homosexual connections near the crime scene immediately after the shooting in case there were further attacks.

[18] A protest rally was held in Tel Aviv following the shooting, including lit candles,[8][11][13] which are a symbol of mourning in Jewish culture.

A few hours after the event, a demonstration of a few hundred people took place on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, and the protesters marched towards Allenby Street, and King George Street until they reached Tel Aviv Municipal LGBT Community Center, in Meir Park, and on the way chanted "Inciting homophobes, children's blood is on your hands."

Twenty thousand demonstrators or more gathered to show solidarity with Israel's gay community, including the victims shot at the center.

[19] President Shimon Peres addressed the crowd, saying the shots fired at the gay and lesbian community "hurt all of us – as people, as Jews, as Israelis.

[21] The Jerusalem Post reported that the shooting was planned by two young men, one of whom believed his teenaged relative had been abused by an activist at the Bar-Noar center.

Felician allegedly decided to take matters into his own hands, and together with another suspect, Tarlan Hankishayev, and the state's witness, plotted to harm the activist.

Subsequently, the witness, who was identified in media reports as "Z" due to his identity being under gag order, was arrested on charges of fabricating evidence.

Under police interrogation, Yaakov Felician claimed that the attorney had only filed a rape complaint after he did not hire her to serve on his brother's defense team.

The police must exert great efforts in order to catch the despicable murderer, and the entire nation must unite in condemning this abominable act.

[33] On August 8, a week after the shooting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the crime scene at Bar-Noar to show support for the community and the deadly attack on it.

"[33][dead link‍] Opposition leader Tzipi Livni called it a "grave incident", saying "even if all the details surrounding the event are not yet clear, the hatred exists and must be dealt with".

[33] The Mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, said his city would still welcome members of the gay and lesbian community, saying they would fight for their rights to live.

[6] On August 3, 2009, more than 150 Jewish and LGBT people held a candlelight vigil in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States.

Rabbi Camille Shira Angel from Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, among others, spoke in condemnation of the violence.