Update:
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Orlando Gay Attack
I typically have posts written ahead of time, within reason according to time frames and news events, and I thought it was important to update this post with this information.
Obviously, I was gutted by what happened in Orlando, and I spoke to a lot of people on Twitter last night who felt the same way I do. One m/m romance author I know lives in Orlando and I could tell she was still in shock. And for good reason.
With that said, here’s an update about how ISIS is claiming responsibility for what happened in Orlando. You can read the entire article here.
The terrorist group ISIS again claimed responsibility for the shooting that killed at least 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in an official broadcast on the group’s Albayan Radio on Monday, according to Reuters.
“One of the Caliphate’s soldiers in America carried out a security invasion where he was able to enter a crusader gathering at a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando, Florida … where he killed and injured more than a hundred of them before he was killed,” the group said in its broadcast, Reuters reports.
Orlando Gay Club Attack and Terrorism
I think one of the most harmless places you can go on this earth is a gay nightclub.
Then this happens:
Police say the gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, FL, stormed the downtown nightclub around 2 a.m., opening fire on the crowd. He then took dozens of people hostage in a an hours-long standoff with police. That ended around 5 a.m., when authorities executed e a rescue operation during which Mateen was shot and killed. Police drove a truck through the wall to distract the shooter.
If he hadn’t been shot and killed, I can’t think of a form of torture strong enough for him…or people like him.
According to this article, this is being investigated as an act of terrorism. I think we all know by now how ISIS feels about gays in general.
LA Pride and Man With Explosives
This is what happened on the west coast over the weekend.
Santa Monica police have confirmed that they arrested a man after discovering assault rifles, ammunition and possible explosives in his car. He claimed he was on his way to Los Angeles Pride, which takes place today.
The rest is here. The facts aren’t all here. I’m just glad they got him.
And there’s more here in this article, but the investigation is still ongoing. They name him as James Wesley Howell of Indiana and they mention facts about prior incidents he’s been involved in.
Orlando Shooter Saw Two Gay Men Kissing
Evidently, this is what the father of the Orlando night club shooter had to say about what his son did:
“We were in Downtown Miami, Bayside, people were playing music. And he saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry. They were kissing each other and touching each other and he said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’ And then we were in the men’s bathroom and men were kissing each other. We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. We weren’t aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country. This had nothing to do with religion.”
That’s pretty bad in itself. And I don’t believe religion had nothing to do with it.
You can read more about this one, here.
The article does state that all the details are not in yet and there’s still a lot more to process. And comments like this should be taken “with a grain of salt.”
