Residents of the Central Valley are continuing to react to the murder of more than 50 people in a shooting at an LGBTQ club in Orlando. The mass murder has created waves of outrage across the country.
Sunday night, hundreds of people marched in the Fresno’s Tower District for a candlelight vigil remembering the victims of the worst mass shooting in American history.
Jason Scott with the advocacy group Gay Fresno says the attack is causing great sadness and anger but also resolve.
“People are also feeling like they want to not let this person succeed in what they were hoping to accomplish which was to put people back into the closet and make them feel like they cannot be themselves,” Scott says.
There is no known threat for the Central Valley, but Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says the department has made contact with businesses that work with the LGBTQ community and offered additional police protection.
“Every single location in Fresno that catered to the gay population, we had a conversation with them. To make sure that they were aware. That we were present. And also that they were taking steps to protect themselves,” Dyer says.
Dyer says that terrorists can strike pretty much anywhere, but that people cannot hide in fear as a result. He echoes what many law enforcement officials are saying ‘if you see something, say something’.
