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By Riley Lynch ’18 | Feature Editor
*name has been changed per request.
A gunman left 50 dead and 53 injured in a gay night club in Orlando on Sunday at 2 am, causing the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
The gunman, Omar Mateen, was killed by a SWAT unit at 6 am in Pulse Nightclub, according to the Orlando Police Department. The same weapon used by Mateen, an AR-15 gun, was used by Sandy Hook killer Adam Lanza and the San Bernardino terrorists.
Of the 320 people in Pulse at the time, nearly one-third were shot, according to the New York Times. Heightened security measures are being taken around the country at gay pride events. Motor City Pride was held a day before the shooting, and extended the festival until Sunday, after the shooting.
Alex Hick ’18, vice president of Ferndale High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance, believes gun control plays a large part in mass murders.
“I believe guns should be strongly regulated and not in the homes of citizens,” Hick said.
Hick also believes that by fighting back, the gay community can become stronger.
“I’m not afraid,” they said. ” I believe we should treat this as we have with many situations in the past: by fighting back and becoming braver than ever.”
The attack is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism, and many people such as Jonah Angelo* ’18 are viewing it as a hate crime against the LGBT+ community.
“I believe this is a hate crime solely because the perpetrator specifically targeted a gay nightclub, not any other nightclub,” he said. “It makes me feel really mad that anyone would think to do something as awful as this.”
