Thousands march in SF to honor victims of Orlando shooting

Byby Sergio Quintana KGO logo

Monday, June 13, 2016

Vigil held at Harvey Milk Plaza in Castro for Orlando shooting victims

San Francisco held a vigil for 50 victims of the mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, which has touched the Bay Area LGBT community. For leaders like Supervisor David Campos, the day was especially painful.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco held a vigil for 50 victims of the mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, which has touched the Bay Area LGBT community. For leaders like Supervisor David Campos, the day was especially painful.

"I apologize if I'm emotional, as a Gay Latino man, is it not shocking to me that the worst mass shooting in this country would target the Queer community,' said Campos.

PHOTOS: San Francisco mourns victims of Orlando nightclub shooting

All the victims of this tragedy are yet to be identified. But one of the first to be named, Edward Sotomayor, is familiar to one of the people in this crowd.

"I met Eddy Sotomayor last September when I went on a cruise to Europe," shared Donny De Leon, of San Francisco.

Sotomayor was Cruise Director for a gay travel agency called Al and Chuck's Travel.

There was re was lots of anger and a lot of sadness, but there was also solidarity.

READ MORE: Orlando mayor: 50 dead in nightclub shooting

Among those who spoke tonight was a Muslim doctor at San Francisco General Hospital.

"These tragedies are coming to us far too frequently, as a physician I see them as a symptom of a deeper illness, it is a disease of the soul that goes by different names," said Dr. Suzane Barakat, with SF General.

PHOTO: Dr. Suzane Barakat

Among those in attendance were The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Mayor Ed Lee and Senator Mark Leno.

"There are a lot of people who are feeling down. That includes this six foot nun. and that's why it's important that we come together in this sacred space where Harvey Milk told us that we have to give them hope," Sister Merry Peder, an event organizer.

And just like they did to honor Harvey so many years ago, this crowd took to the streets of San Francisco to honor those lost in Orlando.

Earlier in the afternoon, a special prayer event was organized at Grace Cathedral. The bishop of San Francisco said it was necessary to open the cathedral for prayer in the face of such tragedy.

Click here for full coverage on the deadly mass shooting in Orlando.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the victims and families of the mass shooting in Orlando, click here for more information.