Orlando may be 2,500 miles away, but distance in no way minimizes the acuteness of the shock, pain and fear that Eastside residents feel following Sunday’s horrific attack.
Forty-nine people lost their lives when 29-year-old Omar Mateen, pledging loyalty to radical Islamic terrorist group ISIS, opened fire on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida early Sunday morning. The mass murder was both the bloodiest shooting and deadliest terror attack on American soil since 9/11.
Though still struggling to process the magnitude of the massacre, locals are finding ways to show support for the victims.
The cities of Issaquah and Bellevue lowered their flags to half-mast on Monday as a tribute to those murdered, and encouraged other towns to do the same. Around the Eastside this week, lowered American flags could be seen everywhere from schools to car dealerships.
“Words cannot adequately express the grief we all feel for the people of Orlando and for our nation,” said Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler. “This is a heartbreaking loss felt around the United States, including here in Issaquah. We are flying our City Hall flags at half-mast to honor the victims of this senseless act of violence and hate.”
The Bellevue City Council had a moment of silence for the victims at Monday evening’s meeting.
“I’d like to take a moment, on behalf of the city and City Council, to offer my condolences to the victims and families of yesterday’s terrorist attacks in Orlando,” Mayor John Stokes said. “Like Orlando, Bellevue is home to people of many colors and creeds. We are proud of the fact that diversity is our community’s greatest strength. No one, in Bellevue or our country, should be fearful of their personal safety, regardless of their ethnic background, skin color, gender, religion or sexual orientation.”
The Issaquah School District has made preparations in case a shooting like Orlando should ever occur locally. A newly-integrated emergency policy called Run, Hide, Fight allows older students to look for exits and run if they see the opportunity, rather than having to stay put.
The district, which is growing ever more diverse, also said that it focuses on teaching anti-discrimination, especially in the wake of the attack. An anti-bullying program called Culture of Kindness has been adopted by all schools in the district.
However, certain groups in the area cannot help but feel threatened after Sunday’s slaughter. The LGBT community especially identifies strongly with the victims of such an anti-gay bloodbath.
“We don’t often hear reports of violence on the Eastside, and we’re thankful for that,” said Ben Crowther, president of the Bellevue/Eastside chapter of national gay rights group PFLAG. “But, just because we don’t hear reports doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Typically, acts of violence are made with the intention of silencing LGBT people. I think that’s part of what we saw in Orlando.”
While attending the vigil in Seattle earlier this week, Crowther said he felt fear he hadn’t felt in eight or nine years. He was nervous, he said, to be seen holding his husband’s hand in public.
The LGBT community is determined to only grow stronger after the terror attack. After all, violence and discrimination have been a part of LGBT history and often brought people together, Crowther said.
“I can tell you that our community is resilient and it’s often when times are toughest that we come together and find our community,” he said.
Local Muslims also fear retaliatory attacks from people who may mistakenly believe that Mateen’s radical Islamic views represent the Muslim population as a whole.
Earlier this year, a panel of six Muslim Bellevue residents discussed how foreign and domestic acts of violence — both against and by Muslims — affected them. Negative stigmas around their religion have been heightened by ISIS, they said.”I feel that whenever something happens around the world, not even specifically in the United States, I am expected to give an explanation. When I go to school, when I go on play dates with my children, people do expect me to explain things that I have had nothing to do with. I think that has trickled into the Seattle area,” said panelist Afshan Ejaz.
“American Muslims see no justification for this sort of violence,” Sammamish Muslim Association President Ramadan Chokr said. “Seeing the pictures on TV, our hearts go out to the victims … we pray for them.”
The Redmond-based Muslim Association of Puget Sound heightened security after receiving threats on Sunday. At the time, police received an anonymous call relaying threats against the association, the mosque was filled with 350 adults and children attending services during the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. Police officers stayed at the mosque until its final service of the night ended at 3:20 a.m.
In Sammamish, Chokr said Muslims have been “extremely blessed” with a supportive community. Some residents even brought the Muslim community flowers and cards as a show of support after the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.
“We have seen nothing but total support,” Chokr said. “We live in peace.”
Islamic Sharia Law technically says that homosexuality can be punished by death, and 10 countries around the world still have the death penalty for gays. However, Chokr said that he and his community identify first and foremost as Americans and believe in freedom for all, gays included.
“We’re all human, we make no distinction,” he said. “We have the right to live peacefully — God favors the peaceful.”
It can be hard to know how to move on after such a gruesome act of carnage, but locals all agree that banding together in solidarity is the best first step.
“We uphold the Constitution of this land we cherish; we’re all in this together,” Chokr said. “We are and will always be Americans, united as one nation under God.”
Reporters Allison DeAngelis and Ryan Murray contributed to this report.
