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Local Vigils for Those Lost in Orlando Shooting

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A vigil was held in Rehoboth Beach by the LGBTQ community in the wake of the night club shooting that left around 50 dead and similar number wounded in Orlando.

Around a hundred showed up to comfort each with several noting that June is gay pride month.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that one told the paper their first reaction was whether they knew someone there and then that it could have been one of them.

The paper reports that LGBT groups expressed grief and frustration at the attacks on social media.

Steve Elkins, executive director for CAMP Rehoboth -- an LGBT community center -- told the News Journal that the attack calls into question “the kind of society we really are.”  

The attack was carried out by a gunman armed with an assault rifle at the club Pulse Orlando.

The shooter has been identified as Omar Mateen who pledged his support for ISIS just before the shooting.

His father told media outlets that his son had expressed hostility to the gay and lesbian community.

Baltimore

BALTIMORE (AP) – A vigil was held in Baltimore to remember the dozens of people who died in a shooting at a nightclub in Florida.

A prayer vigil was held Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Memorial Episcopal Church.

The LGBT Community Center of Baltimore & Central Maryland is also planning a candlelight vigil on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Ynot Lot in Baltimore.

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The Maryland Outreach Department of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is planning to hold a news conference Monday with Maryland faith leaders, elected officials and activists to respond to the deadly shooting. That event is being held at the Washington Monument.

Officials said more than 50 people were killed and dozens more were wounded early Sunday after a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Police Department says it is reaching out to the city's LGBT community to discuss concerns and safety after the massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida.

The police department said in a statement Sunday that it is offering its "heartfelt thoughts and prayers to those affected by this evil act of violence."

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.