Lady Gaga Joins Thousands At LA Vigil To Honor Victims Of Orlando Mass Shooting
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Thousands of people attended a vigil in downtown Los Angeles Monday to remember and honor the victims of the deadly attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Lady Gaga was a surprise guest at the vigil outside City Hall and showed her support a day after the deadliest shooting in U.S. history claimed 49 lives, all of whom have been identified.
"This is an attack on humanity itself," said Gaga while addressing the crowd that pledged solidarity with Orlando.
"It hit home to me because it could have been me, anywhere, anytime," said Dave Volpe of the Gay Men's Chorus.
Many in the crowd were members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and say they now fear they could be a target. But there was a heavy police presence to ensure the crowds stayed safe.
"I know what it's like to grow up with discrimination and with people constantly coming after you physically, emotionally," said Steve Scott of the LGBT community.
Emotions ran high during the vigil, from comforting one another, to frustration.
Representatives from the Los Angeles LGBT community say hate-crimes against them increased 14 percent since last year.
"We are angry," said Lorri Jean of the LA LGBT Center, "because Orlando was just one in a long line of violent attacks against our community."
The suspected shooter, identified by law enforcement officials as Omar Mateen, was described as "erratic" by some and "hateful by others. He reportedly swore allegiance to ISIS before the shooting.
Fifty others were wounded, many of whom were in critical condition, as a result of the shooting at the club Mateen had reportedly visited a dozen times.
The Orlando Sentinel reports witnesses had seen the 29-year-old at the gay club a dozen times before. He was described as being social at times and enraged at other times.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Orlando Mass Shooting
One club-goer said Mateen had used a gay dating app for over a year, but according to his father, he was homophobic. When asked if she thought he was gay, his ex-wife told CNN she "didn't know."
Social media captured the party at the Pulse and the moment it all changed. Investigators combed the area around the club Monday.
The FBI also searched electronic devices, tracing his words and actions in recent weeks.
"So far, we see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States," said FBI Director James Comey.
Among the victims was 34-year-old Eddie Sotomayor.
"They called him top-hat Eddie. He was always fun and lively. Just really sweet, caring and down to earth," said Jonathan Lahr of Sotomayor.
Lahr is from Yorba Linda and recently moved to Orlando. He says he often goes to Pulse on weekends but stayed home that night.
He says Sotomayor was killed trying to save others and just minutes after texting a video.
"It's very sad, very very sad," he said.
Club bouncer and Marine veteran Imran Yousef recognized the sound of Mateen's automatic weapon and unlatched a door to free dozens of trapped club-goers.
"I wish I could save more to be honest," he said. "There's a lot of people that are dead."
The White House has announced that President Obama will in Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects.
Meanwhile, the FBI was reportedly searching Mateen's laptop and iPhone and were looking into the possibility that he came to Orlando earlier than the attack in order to scout Disney World as a potential target.
