Merced community reacts to Orlando tragedy

News that a gunman killed 49 people and injured dozens more in a gay nightclub on the other side of the country had a chilling effect on Merced-area residents a day after the tragic incident.

The UC Merced community held a vigil and moment of silence on Monday for the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Merced resident Marissa Chavez organized a similar evening event in Bob Hart Square.

Chavez, 26, said she woke early Sunday to news alerts on her phone about the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., where the crowd had been celebrating Latino Night during June’s Pride Month. Chavez noted she had been in Florida just last week because her best friend recently moved there.

After frantic texting, she learned her friend was safe and on her way to donate blood for the victims. “It’s very emotional and hits close to home,” Chavez said. “I myself am Chicana, and a queer Chicana at that, so everything just really hit home for me.”

The shooting erupted just after 2 a.m. Sunday. The gunman, Omar Mateen, held some of the club-goers hostage for several hours before Florida law enforcement officers smashed their way in and fatally shot him during a gunbattle.

“It makes me feel scared for my community,” Chavez said. “Holding my partner’s hand, there’s already some fear, and now it’s just magnified.”

Another Merced resident, Jules Carrillo, seconded the fear, a feeling from which she said she’s mostly been spared. “I feel uncomfortable,” the 25-year-old said. “I feel like people look at me maybe a little differently now. Or maybe they always looked at me that way but I never realized.”

She said the looks and stares make her think twice about what others are thinking, because the shooting was a reminder there are people who would want to do her harm because of her sexuality.

Carrillo, who also identifies as queer, said she was frustrated that amid the talk about terrorism and whether the gunman was inspired by an extreme Islamic group, not enough people were calling it a “hate crime.”

Both women said Merced does not have a nightclub similar to the one targeted Sunday in the attack. But, people are known to head to Fresno or Modesto to find such a place.

Chavez said clubs typically are seen as a refuge. “That’s a place where we feel like we’re safe and we can celebrate who we are,” she said. “Now, it just puts a lot of things into perspective.”

The Merced LGBT Community Center used its Facebook page Sunday to direct members of the community to a larger gathering at a Fresno center, which drew 400 to 500 people to the Tower District.

“We woke today to a horrific tragedy,” the Merced Facebook post said Sunday. “It leaves our LGBTQ+ community, friends and family with unimaginable heartache. We are sending positive, healing energy and prayers to all those impacted by this incident.”

For Jeff Hough, owner of Club Legends, a gay nightclub in Fresno, the mass shooting coming during Gay Pride Month was especially angering.

“June is Gay Pride Month. We celebrate the diversity; we celebrate our right to love one another,” Hough said in an interview Sunday. “This could have happened at any club – straight or gay. But Pulse was most likely targeted because of it being gay. For years, people have fought and some have died for the rights that we have today.”

Hough said that while he was disgusted by how “something like this can even happen in Orlando or anywhere in the United States,” the public’s focus should be on the victims – not the killer.

“We should concentrate on the people who were injured and killed and not on the person who did this,” he said.

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Merced community reacts to Orlando tragedy."