DAYTON — Dozens of people gathered in downtown Dayton for a candlelight vigil in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
This comes after five people were killed, and 19 others were hurt in a mass shooting at a gay club in Colorado Springs.
People in the Miami Valley wanted to show solidarity, and News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis went to hear their message.
“We really got to stop this type of hate, this type of senseless violence,” said Chrisondra Goodwine with Dayton Black Pride.
That violence took five lives at Club Q, a popular gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado.
>>Site of Colorado gay bar shooting ‘celebrated’ LGBTQ people
Melachi Carroll with Dayton Black Pride said, “those people just went to the bar to have fun and dance in a safe place so they thought. My heart goes out to each and every one of them.”
R.J. McKay, with the Greater Dayton LGBT Center, says, “it really just shakes people up, and that’s part of why we’re doing this vigil is to show people that as a community we’re strong and we’re going to survive.”
People embraced each other. They told stories and lit candles. Those who came out hoped just being around others can help with the pain brought on when something like this happens.
Have a Gay Day Executive Director, Michael Knote tells us, “It’s the same thing that happens when we go to a funeral, when we go to a wake, when we go to whatever it is as far as suffering and loss, it’s to come together to mourn that loss.”
But it was also a way for those to speak up and make their voices heard. Goodwine says, “I just hope that we continue to say something to prevent this type of action from ever happening again.”
McKay, “we all bleed the same blood, and we’re all the same people. Just seeing anything that could be a hate or violent act is kind of despicable and sad to see.”
According to the Associated Press, police are still trying to figure out the motive for the shooting. The suspected shooter is in custody.
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