Grief, defiance in US after massacre

Orlando- Across the United States, reaction to the massacre at a Orlando, Florida gay nightclub ranged from mourning to defiance, as many cities planned vigils and some officials increased security.

President Barack Obama ordered US flags at all federal buildings to be flown at half-staff until Thursday, including at the White House and at embassies around the world.

Florida Governor Rick Scott asked for a moment of silence “to mourn the loss of life and pray for those that are still fighting for their life, and pray for all the loved ones.”
Numerous communities planned vigils, from great cities like New York and San Diego to the tiny resort of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Defiance took the form of pledges to continue with gay pride festivities, which traditionally take place throughout June.

‘We won’t shrink away’
“We will not shrink away. We will not be stuck in our homes. We will not go back into closets. We are out here to march, to celebrate and to mourn” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, at a news conference at the beginning of the gay pride parade in that city.

“All of our hearts today are with Orlando,” he said.
In Detroit, Police Chief James Craig told a local newspaper that security was “enhanced” at the Motor City Pride festival on Sunday.

Officials in Dallas made a similar announcement, promising to boost police presence in entertainment districts, including in a part of the city with many gay and lesbian establishments.

There were at least two vigils planned in Chicago, and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner ordered all flags lowered to half staff.

Brian Johnson, CEO of the Chicago-based gay rights organization Equality Illinois, said for many people, an attack at a gay bar has historic and social significance.

“If you look back at the lives of the LGBTQ community... we are not a community that had churches to congregate in,” Johnson told AFP in an interview.

“An attack on us in a nightclub is not just an attack in a place where we socialize, it’s an attack in the center of the community where we feel safe.”

One of the Chicago vigils was organised by Dawn Valenti, a crisis responder who usually counsels families of shooting victims in the aftermath of Chicago’s daily gun violence.
Valenti, who is lesbian, said many in the gay community have not been exposed to gun violence and do not know how to deal with it.

“Just hearing about stuff like this has triggered post-traumatic stress disorder in people,” Valenti told AFP, adding that public displays of support for the people of Orlando are one way to cope.

Officials in Houston, Texas and New York City planned to light their respective city hall buildings with the familiar rainbow colors which represent gay pride.

“Houston is grieving today,” said Mayor Silvester Turner in a statement. “It is past time for us as a country to come together against hatred toward any person or persons based on group affiliation.”

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett called for flags at local government buildings to be flown at half staff.

Rundown of other major attacks

On December 2, 2015, a couple opened fire during a Christmas party in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people. Pakistani national Tashfeen Malik, 29, and his wife Syed Farook, a 28-year-old US citizen, were armed with assault rifles and explosives, and were killed in a shootout by police.

On July 16, 2015, Kuwaiti-born US citizen Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at a recruitment centre in Chattanooga, and then drove to a Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center where he continued firing. Abdulazeez killed four Marines and a sailor with an assault rifle before he was shot dead by police.

On May 3, 2015, police in a Dallas suburb kill two armed men who had opened fire near a site where caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed were being exhibited.
On April 15, 2013, two pressure-cooker bombs placed near the finish line of the Boston marathon killed three people and injured 264 others. Two brothers of Chechen descent, Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, were tracked down. Tamerlan was killed trying to escape while Dzokhar was captured, convicted and sentenced to death. He is now in prison.

On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Hasan, 39, a US Army psychiatrist of Palestinian origin opened fire with a pistol at the Fort Hood base in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding more than 40 before he was arrested. Hasan was sentenced to death and is being held at a military prison.