SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Ed Murray urged people to be vigilant but not be intimidated following the deadly attack at a gay nightclub in Florida.
“This is absolutely an attempt at intimidation and fear,” said Murray, who is openly gay. “We as a community have been here before. And we will do what we’ve always done. We will come together and we will not be intimidated and we will not censor ourselves out of fear.”
Murray said the Seattle’s police chief will provide more details about security plans for upcoming Seattle Pride events, which includes a large parade June 26 in downtown Seattle that typically draws tens of thousands of people. But “it’s obvious that this situation calls for a higher level of security,” he said.
Seattle Pride vice president David Hale said organizers plan to move forward with the parade and other events, but he said the attack will change the tone of events.
LGBTQ Pride 2016
• Portland’s Pride Parade begins at 11 a.m. Sunday at West Burnside Street and Park Avenue, ending at the Waterfront Festival.
• Portland’s Trans Pride Parade is 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Southwest Ankeny Street and 8th Avenue.
• The accompanying Waterfront Festival will be open noon to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Southwest Pine Street and Naito Parkway.
• In Vancouver, Saturday in the Park celebrates Pride 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 9 in Esther Short Park, Eighth and Columbia streets.
• Information: http://pridenw.org or http://sitppride.org
“Pride will be doing anything we can to recognize the lives lost in this tragedy,” he said. “The best thing we can do for our community is to come together.”
The organizers will work with Seattle police on this year’s security plans, Hale said.
Across Washington state, leaders, groups and citizens condemned the shooting and mourned the 50 people who died when a gunman opened fire on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the deadliest U.S. mass shooting to date.
Gov. Jay Inslee in a statement called it a “horrific tragedy” and “an act of hatred.”
Vigils were planned across the Pacific Northwest on Sunday night, including in Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma and Spokane in Washington, as well as Portland and Bend in Oregon.
“Waking up to this was definitely heart-breaking, especially targeting the LGBTQ community and two weeks away from Seattle Pride,” said Robert Matencio, who works as a host at Neighbours nightclub in Seattle.
On Dec. 31, 2013, about 750 people were celebrating New Year’s Eve at the popular gay nightclub when Musab Masmari poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway and set it ablaze. No one was injured, and Masmari was sentenced to 10 years in prison for arson.
Since the New Year’s Eve arson fire, Matencio said the club has added extra security guards in plain clothes and uniforms during large special events. “We have had to look at things in a different manner,” he added.
