One dead after pickup truck drives into crowd attending Wilton Manors LGBTQ Pride parade

[George II]

Source: Sun-Sentinel

A pickup truck drove into a crowd of spectators at the start of the Wilton Manors Stonewall Parade and Festival in what appeared to be an intentional act, witnesses said. One person is dead and another is clinging to life, according to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis.

A third man is expected to survive.

“This was a terrorist attack against the LGBTQ community,” Trantalis said. “He came here to destroy people. This was clearly no accident.”

Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom said the FBI is joining the investigation.

Link to tweet

Read more: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-ne-wilton-manors-parade-hit-run-20210620-v7wacvhojzekxip34ks62nk7my-story.html

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Edit: More detailed article substituted for original article.

[Bristlecone]

1. More terrorism in the US

[regnaD kciN]

11. Also inspired by DeinSantis...

...who recently signed a bill giving "stand your ground" rights to anyone who hits a pedestrian during a "protest." Want to guess whether or not the driver will claim a Pride Parade qualifies as such? In Florida, he may well win.

[sarisataka]

33. This may be one of the few correct conclusions that people jumped to

though not in the way you insinuated.

[jimfields33]

31. He was part of the gay men's choir

Not sure he’s any of those descriptions you provided.

[Bucky]

41. It's good to have a thread full of reminders that when there's a tragedy...

It's best to hold your tongue, offer help if you can, and wait for all the facts to come in.

Like most people, my initial thought was it was probably some deranged hater. But we've all seen enough of these tragedies to know there's always a lot more that we don't know going on.

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. Donrt know why the driver was taken into custody, even if he did it on purpose it is entirely

legal in FL to run over and kill any protester who is protesting for minority rights.

If a POC ran over a MAGA parade person, said POC would be dead within 5 minutes.

[Warpy]

24. If the Pride parade was permitted, and I don't know of many who don't pull permits

this driver has no legal leg to stand on. Unless they can prove a mechanical problem with the vehicle or catastrophic medical problem, he's looking at murder charges.

If not, it's open season on anybody some angry white man hates--women, old people, veterans, kids, and the list goes on.

[Eliot Rosewater]

44. Is that how the racist law is written? That you can run over and kill someone who does not

have a permit?

[Warpy]

45. It's the difference between a legal parade

and a bunch of hooligans blocking traffic. The law was written to attack the latter.

If the courts refuse to make that distinction, Gov. Death Sentence is going to reap quite a whirlwind, there are plenty of peopple in FL who can't stand his and Dumdum's bunch of loudmouthed assholes.

[Eliot Rosewater]

49. None of this really matters, trumpers will ignore laws very soon and just start burning and killing

and the ONLY reason they wont, if they dont, is if they see an unbeatable force awaiting them. But they will NEVER see that in states like FL and GA and so on, right? Think about it, everybody.

THAT is WHO they are! I have been saying this for many years, it is why I get silenced often and was routinely silenced all over liberal and progressive message boards over the past 10 years.

One of my best friends ripped me a new one when I said all repubs, by definition, are bad and he said I had to retract it, so I sort of did to keep him happy and this was 5 or so years ago, pre trump.

But I was right. Now SOME cons have denounced rump and left the party and they are to be applauded, but look how many did not!

[Warpy]

50. My dad once found a piece of poperty that was a total steal

(probably due to a hostile divorce and a bitter spouse lowballing the price) and couldn't understand why I didn't snap it right up and move to beautiful, perpet8ually warm and sunny Florida.

He died in 2006, but had begun to catch a clue as developers spoiled all the unspoiled beaches hear him with an unbroken wall of ugly high rise condo buildings and time shares.

I think his tune would be very different now, he'd probably be making noises about joining me in perpetually sunny New Mexico.

Florida has always been run by scammers and boom and bust real estate schemes. However, nobody managed to wreck the state completely until Jebbie Bush let the developers take over. Now there's little left of the charm parts of the state once had.

Today is one day I miss my dad. He was a dunce about politics and would probably still think I'm a Communist, although I provoked a truce that lasted many decades by telling him I was a communalist and if he didn't know the difference, look it up. He was still a gent, and I'm glad to say his last vote in 2004 was for Kerry. I can't say all Republicans are bad because of him. Their thinking is skewed and their priorities are upside down, but they're not inherently evil. I reserve that term for men like Murdoch and Dumdum and McConnell and all their enablers and other knowing architects of the dismantling of everything good about this country.

[Eliot Rosewater]

51. At least he saw the light. I miss my dad too.

[Girard442]

4. I dunno. The article said the truck was lined up with other parade entries.

Seems like an odd M.O. for a terrorist.

[George II]

6. Another article from the Sun-Sentinel said it crashed through a fence. I changed my source in the OP

[regnaD kciN]

9. That's not what the story currently says...

It quotes a spectator: "We were at the start of the parade, right in front of Fort Lauderdale High School. All of a sudden there was a loud revving of a truck and a crash through a fence. It was definitely an intentional act right across the lanes of traffic."

[Bucky]

42. I guess the spectator got it wrong

In tragedies like this, the initial reports are almost always peppered with factual errors. Still, a very sad day

[FM123]

5. Oh no. This just can't be...

[Behind the Aegis]

7. Was this an anti-LGBT hate crime? An anti-Semitic hate crime? An attempted political assassination?

Was this a manic episode? Time will tell.

The top video shows the person being arrested with "PRIDE" on his back in the pride colors. So, was this a "false flag" or is there something else happening here?

ETA: it isn't "Pride", but something else in the rainbow colors.

[George II]

8. The tshirt says "FTLOVE" in Pride colors. The witnesses said he was shouting obscenities....

I suppose we'll have to wait for more details.

[Behind the Aegis]

12. I am trying to figure out with "FTLOVE" is.

I guess being gay, when I see pride colors and certain shapes, I see "Pride" as the word, especially when it is quick. Thanks for pointing it out. I went back and looked, as well as updated my post. Do we know what obscenities?

[George II]

15. The event was in Ft. Lauderdale. That may be the motto of the parade? We're going to have to wait...

....for a report from the police.

A horrible situation.

Edit: here's a screen shot of the shirt. It looks like FTLCM, which I've found stands for "Faith, Truth, Life in Christ Ministries", so he may be an evangelist nut.

[kinkshame]

25. It's FTLGMC

Link to tweet

[TomSlick]

35. Welcome to DU!

Thanks for the clarification.

[hay rick]

18. Looks like a skinhead in the video. nt

[George II]

19. Yes, and I found that the "FTLCM" might stand for "Faith, Truth, Life in Christ Ministries".

[HUAJIAO]

28. Shirt says FTLGMC

Ft Lauderdale Gay Mens' Chorus

[berniesandersmittens]

30. The chorus president said they were all members

Snip

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are affected,” said Knight, who was not at the scene but recognized the driver from video. “Our fellow chorus members were those injured, and the driver was a part of the chorus family. ... To my knowledge it was an accident. This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community.”

Snip

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-ne-wilton-manors-parade-hit-run-20210620-v7wacvhojzekxip34ks62nk7my-story.html%3foutputType=amp

[HUAJIAO]

55. And just look at how many folks here already condemned the guy as a bigoted terrorist...

[Rebl2]

43. Just because

A man is bald doesn’t mean they are automatically a skinhead. A local meteorologist in my area is completely bald oh and gay. I am sure he isn’t a skinhead.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. He may have been wearing it to get into the precession line.

.

He's got a shaven head and seems to fit one of the Trump supporter's profiles.

.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. That's true. A false flag of sorts.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. It is a shame someone is already dead and another wounded, as well as a community shaken.

[George II]

20. I elaborated in my post #15, he may be an anti-gay "Evangelist".

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

13. He's so filled with hatred he's willing to spend the rest of his life in prison.

It reminds me of the guy last week who shot and killed a grocery cashier who asked that he cover his nose his mask. So much hatred. So much stupidity. I hope neither has kids. How do they deal with the fact that their father is a murderer?

[Lithos]

16. This tweet suggests he was after Debbie Wasserman-Schulz

Link to tweet

?s=20

[marble falls]

21. There's just no words.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

22. Sick bastard

[Politicub]

23. No words. Shock.

I’m confident AG Garland will prioritize investigating this as a hate crime.

[IronLionZion]

26. Whether it's anti-LGBT, Anti-Wasserman-Shultz, or mental illness

it is still terrorism even if the perp is white. The current administration and justice department are prosecuting white terrorism again after the last asshole openly encouraged more of it.

[padah513]

32. You can lay the blame for this tragedy at DeSantis' feet.

What the hell did he expect would happen when he signed that bill? He gave the lunatics all the green light they needed and whoever is running against him next election needs to get in front of every camera they can find right now and say so loud and often.

[GulfCoast66]

34. The guy driving the Truck is a member of the Ft Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus.

The president of the Chorus has released a statement say such and that it was an accident.

Guy probably got nervous about driving in a parade and hit the wrong pedal then panicked. It’s not uncomfortable.

Just a sad tragedy. I feel bad for all involved.

[oldsoftie]

40. No need to wait for facts, everyone claims to already KNOW

Thank you for the clarification.
This happens ALL the time here.

[Jedi Guy]

46. "This happens ALL the time here."

Yep, it does. As I said on a thread in GD, if jumping to conclusions became an Olympic sport, lots of folks here on DU would take home medals.

[Cetacea]

52. It's how news stories sometimes unfold. The mayor (witness) said it was deliberate

The Vice-mayor, who didn't witness it, says it was an accident. Early reports back up the mayor's account and the story gradually changed from there over time.
Why are you blaming people here?

[oldsoftie]

54. See the post above yours.

People dont read the articles before they post, they just react

[Progressive Jones]

36. "Gawd" will be found to have had something to do with this when the killer explains himself. nt

[toughtony]

37. THIS IS HAPPENING TOO MUCH TO BE..

An accident, or whatever....this is not a coincidence. Yeah, his t-shirt but gee, if you knew you were going to kill someone how hard is it to set up an alibi. He could have gotten the shirt from a vendor. This is happening way too much all over the country to be a coincidence.

[George II]

38. Follow up, he is NOT a terrorist:Wilton Manors Pride Parade Motorist Not Terrorist, Part of Gay....

Wilton Manors Pride Parade Motorist Not Terrorist, Part of Gay Men's Chorus

Officials believe that an incident in which a man was killed and another seriously injured after a driver hit spectators at a Pride parade in South Florida on Saturday evening was an accident.

The driver of the pickup truck that hit the crowd during the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade was reportedly part of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus family and was not purposely targeting the LGBTQ community.

"Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver is also a part of the Chorus family," the group's president Justin Knight said in a statement, via NBC.

https://www.newsweek.com/wilton-manors-parade-crash-lgbt-florida-1602321

[MissMillie]

39. What? The driver couldn't aford a gun? (/sarcasm)

Why are so many people turning their motor vehicles into WMDs?

[BannonsLiver]

47. Some of these responses sure didn't age well.

[Treefrog]

56. Nope.

I especially like the comments on what the letters on his t-shirt meant.

[lildDemz]

48. Jumping to conclusions

sometimes goes overboard here. Will all the fools apologize and leave? I hope you are all the vulgar language fanatics if you do.

[Cetacea]

53. Blame the reporting

Stories unfold over time. But DU members suc, right?