LGBT Community Mourns Orlando Attack, Boosts Security At Pride Events; NPR, 6/13/16

Camila Domonoske, NPR; LGBT Community Mourns Orlando Attack, Boosts Security At Pride Events:

"With sorrow, anger and expressions of unity, the LGBT community across the world is mourning Sunday's deadly attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando. Meanwhile, security has been increased at LGBT landmarks and events in cities across America.

The attack — in which a gunman killed 50 people, making it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, and injured 53 — struck during Pride Month, which commemorates the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and the gay rights movement more broadly...

And at the Tony Awards — the annual celebration of Broadway shows — the entire ceremony was dedicated to the victims of the attack.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who received a Tony for his wildly successful show Hamilton, read a sonnet for the victims. The poem begins in personal territory, before turning to Sunday's "senseless act of tragedy":

My wife's the reason anything gets done She nudges me towards promise by degrees She is a perfect symphony of one Our son is her most beautiful reprise.

We chase the melodies that seem to find us Until they're finished songs, and start to play When senseless acts of tragedy remind us That nothing here is promised, not one day.

This show is proof that history remembers We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger We rise and fall, and light from dying embers Remembrances that hope and love last longer.

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside I sing Vanessa's symphony. Eliza tells her story Now fill the world with music, love, and pride."

Mass Shooting At Orlando Gay Nightclub: What We Know; NPR, 6/12/16

Merrit Kennedy, NPR; Mass Shooting At Orlando Gay Nightclub: What We Know:

"A gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, killing at least 50 people and wounding at least 53 others. It's the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The death toll far exceeded initial estimates. Orlando Police Chief John Mina had initially told reporters that "around 20" people succumbed to gunshot wounds inside the Pulse Orlando nightclub. He later said police found far more victims once they gained full access to the scene. The suspect is also dead, he says.

The suspect has been tentatively identified as Omar Mateen, two law enforcement officials tell NPR's Carrie Johnson...

Authorities say it is not clear whether Pulse Orlando was targeted specifically because it is a gay nightclub. "We don't know that that had any specific impact on the actions taken this evening, at least not yet," Hopper says.

Terry DeCarlo, head of the GLBT Center Of Central Florida, told WMFE reporter Catherine Welch that they're opening crisis hotlines to help the LGBT community.

"We can't confirm — and I've talked extensively with the police department — that it was a direct hate crime against the LGBT community, it could have just been a person looking for a packed nightclub to go in and start shooting. We can't confirm that yet," he says. He adds that his main concern now is providing support for community members and their families.

The Human Rights Campaign says it has lowered its flag to half mast.

"This tragedy has occurred as our community celebrates pride, and now more than ever we must come together as a nation to affirm that love conquers hate," HRC President Chad Griffin says in a statement."