Several thousand people gathered outside Los Angeles City Hall Monday night for a vigil in memory of the people killed during a weekend shooting spree at a gay/lesbian nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
The singer Lady Gaga, long an advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, addressed the crowd and began a reading of the known victims’ names.
“I know that you all here have been feeling a tremendous range of emotions since we heard about this horrible, painful attack in Orlando and on your and our community,” she said, noting the massacre was the worst mass shooting in American history.
“I can’t help but feel that this level of hatred … is an attack on humanity itself.”
Organized by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the event also served as a rally “in solidarity to stand for peace, for community and for Orlando.”
As Lady Gaga put it before she began reading the first of the victims’ names, “Orlando, we are united with your and we are here to remember.”
Forty-nine people were killed by a gunman who was later fatally shot by police inside the Orlando, Florida club early Sunday morning. The rampage came during a weekend of LGBT Pride celebrations being held across the country, including the LA Pride Parade and Festival in West Hollywood.
As Southland residents gather for events in tribute to the shooting victims, local authorities again reminded residents to remain vigilant to help police prevent future attacks.
“While this is my profession, this is everybody’s job,” Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said during an appearance on ABC7. “It is our job to keep each other safe.”
Beck said the nation is in a “new threat level” involving “the lone wolf — no friends, no contact, nobody knows ahead of time, but you see strange behavior.” He said police need the public to act as their eyes and ears to become aware of people who can quickly develop into a threat.
“You see somebody that is overly fascinated with military-grade weapons and does not have good control over their faculties, please tell us so we can do an investigation,” Beck said. “And it may be nothing, in which case we’ll respect their constitutional rights.”
Beck made the rounds of local news programs today and took to Twitter to encourage people to download the “iWatch LA” app on their smartphones.
The app allows users to send a tip to police and provides advice and videos about behaviors that should trigger suspicion. It also includes a map of LAPD stations and telephone numbers for the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies.
The app is free to download.
— City News Service