SF vigil in Castro for Orlando massacre victims
City residents gathered in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood Sunday to honor the victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, while organizers prepared for an evening candle-light vigil and police increase efforts to protect the city during the upcoming Pride week.
Fifty people were killed and at least 53 others were injured in the deadliest mass shooting in American history, which erupted around 2 a.m. Sunday when a gunman, apparently targeting members of Florida’s LGBT community, opened fire at the packed Pulse nightclub.
Crowds stopped by a memorial of flowers, candles and notes Sunday at 18th and Castro streets in the heart of the city’s LGBT district to reflect on the shocking killings and to show solidarity with the victims.
The violence has reverberated around the nation and world as details continue to come in about the episode and the killer, identified as Fort Pierce, Fla., resident Omar Mateen, 29, an American citizen who was shot and killed by police during the attack.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement saying law enforcement officials told him the shooting was “ISIS-inspired.”
“This cold-blooded killing by a radicalized Muslim has shocked and stunned us beyond words, particularly in the month of Ramadan when we are expected to be especially kind and compassionate,” Hasan Rahim, director of San Jose’s Evergreen Islamic Center, said in a statement Sunday.
Starting Sunday, authorities in San Francisco will be “increasing police presence in places of high public concentration, including shopping, transit, and entertainment areas, the city’s Castro district and LGBT venues as well our mosques to ensure safety for everyone,” Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a police spokesman, said.
The massacre comes as cities around the county hold Pride celebrations, raising security concerns and prompting law enforcement officials to ramp up resources.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the unidentified man was armed with assault rifles and ammunition, along with possible explosives, and that he told police he was in town for the city’s Pride Parade.
Officials with the San Francisco event said they are working with police to determine what steps they will take as more details of the horrific killings continue to be released, Pride spokesman Sam Singer said.
The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management will activate its operations center to coordinate with multiple agencies, as it does for all large-scale events.
Officials were meeting Sunday with the San Francisco Police Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to look at all potential threats and determine what adjustments should be made, agency spokesman Francis Zamora said.