Calls for unity at Seattle vigil after Orlando mass shooting

About 1,000 people gathered at Cal Anderson Park Sunday night, to show solidarity with the victims of a mass shooting in Orlando.

Speakers at the vigil came from the LGBTQ, Muslim and Latino communities, and were joined by elected leaders included Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee. Speakers called for unity and to battle intolerance.

Early Sunday, 49 people at Pulse Orlando, a popular gay nightclub, died when a shooter, identified as Omaar Mateen, 29, opened fire and took the people in the club hostage with an AR-15 style rifle. Mateen was killed by police several hours after the start of the incident, when they tried to enter Pulse Orlando.

Mateen had called 9-1-1 just before the shooting and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. However, his ex-wife said he had been exhibiting signs of mental illness in the years before the shooting and his father said he believed Mateen’s actions were driven by his hatred of the LGBTQ community and not by his religion. CAIR and other Muslim groups nationally also condemned the shooting as a hate crime.

Chloe Collyer

Chloe Collyer is a 5th-generation Seattleite, who has dedicated their life to telling the stories of others. Chloe was raised by artists, activists and educators, and now works as a freelance photographer and documentarian who strives to record the testimonies from low-income and LGBT communities.