Colorado club shooting victims to be honored at Asbury Park candlelight vigil tonight
The victims of last weekend’s shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be memorialized during a candlelight vigil at 5 p.m. Monday at QSpot LGBTQ Community Center, 1601 Asbury Ave. in Asbury Park.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by the tragic shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs,” QSpot said in a statement announcing the vigil. “We stand in solidarity with you all.”
Five people were killed and 25 were injured when a gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle inside the LGBTQ club just before midnight on Saturday, authorities have said.
The shootings occurred the night before Sunday’s annual observation of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Gatherings were held on Sunday in Asbury Park, Newark, Princeton, Montclair and Jersey City.
In the wake of the Club Q shootings, longtime LGBTQ-friendly Asbury Park bars Paradise and Georgie’s announced via Instagram on Sunday that there would be an increased police presence at both establishments.
QSpot, formerly located in the Ocean Grove area of Neptune, opened its new home in Asbury Park earlier this year. The center offers support services and social connections.
In the announcement of Monday evening’s vigil, the center called on “federal, state and local government and law enforcement leaders to fully fund the costs of securing QSpot's LGBTQ facility with proper equipment and personnel to guarantee our community members’ safety.”
“We must do everything possible to ensure the safety and security of each person who walks through our doors,” said QSpot executive director John Mikytuck in a statement.
QSpot previously hosted a vigil after the killings of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando during Pride Month in June 2016.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Colorado shooting victims vigil to be held at QSpot in Asbury Park
