Photo by Steve Nesius/ReutersĪs the nation mourned on Sunday, and dozens of people grieved the loss of friends and relatives, leaders of the LGBT community spoke out against the deadly shooting. Hundreds of community members line up outside a clinic to donate blood after an early morning shooting attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, U.S June 12, 2016. “This is a time we should all come together.” Tonight we have had a crime that will have a lasting effect on our community we need to stand strong, we need to be supportive of the victims and their families,” Dyer said during a news conference. Hundreds of people flocked to local blood banks to give blood in Orlando and the city government set up an online list of some of the victims. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for Orange County. President Obama pledged the support of the federal government for local authorities in Orlando and lauded the quick response of law enforcement officials at the scene of the shooting, saying “their courage and professionalism saved lives.”įlags at the White House were lowered to half-mast, and Florida Gov. Officials said they are not actively looking for another suspect.įriends and family members embrace outside the Orlando Police Headquarters during the investigation of a shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016. “There’s a lot of victims inside,” Mina said of the crime scene. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said 11 of his officers engaged in a gun battle with Mateen before he was killed at approximately 5 a.m. “We weren’t aware of any action he is taking. “We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident,” Seddique said. Matteen’s father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News that he believed the shooting “had nothing to do with religion.” The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday through its news agency, though two American officials told Reuters that there no evidence of a direct link to the terrorist organization, a point reiterated by Obama on Sunday. The shooter, identified by officials as 29-year-old Omar Saddiqui Mateen, reportedly traveled to Orlando from his home in Port Saint Lucie, about 120 miles south of Orlando. “This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends - our fellow Americans - who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.”
“Today, as Americans, we grieve the brutal murder - a horrific massacre - of dozens of innocent people,” he said. history, an act of “terror and an act of hate.” Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, President Barack Obama called the shooting, the deadliest in U.S. “Everyone get out… and keep running,” the nightclub Pulse posted on its Facebook page at 2:09 a.m. We are called to be messengers of peace.At least 50 people were killed and 53 were injured at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, when a shooter opened fire early Sunday morning before being killed hours later after a standoff with police. "We need to be attentive when we hear messages of hate," said Green in his sermon ". As Christians we are called to be faithful shepherds. Many of the churchgoers were at a loss for words. Orlando nightclub shooter: What we know about himĪt about 10:30 a.m., a congregation gathered at Saint Paul in the Desert Episcopal Church, also in Palm Springs, which had one of the largest gay and lesbian congregation in the local area. It's bad it happened, but I'm not going to live in fear that it'll happen here." "There's definitely an anti-gay sentiment out there, but the shooter was in a minority. "Never in my life have I been shot at for being gay," Kroenke said.
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The shooter was just one hate-filled man, he said.
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Like Trindle, Kroenke told himself not to be afraid. About a mile away, Nick Kroenke 47, read about the shooting while eating breakfast at Townie Bagels, which sits on the edge of the Warm Sands, the valley’s most prominent gay neighborhood.