One man is dead and another man has been injured after a white pickup truck ran over a crowd just as the Stonewall Pride Parade and Festival was kicking off in South Florida's Wilton Manors neighborhood Saturday night, police said.
The truck, clad in a rainbow flag, was along the parade route on the southwest corner of NE 15th Street and NE 4th Avenue with other floats. The driver has been apprehended and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department is actively investigating the incident with assistance from the FBI.
Video obtained by NBC 6 shows people crowded over two bodies on the scene.
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Fort Lauderdale Police did not release the names of the victims or the suspect or whether it was accidental or not citing the investigation.
Both victims were taken to Broward Health Medical Center. One was pronounced dead, the other victim is expected to survive, police say.
The driver of the pick up truck who arrested was wearing a Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus shirt and the president of the organization, said in a statement that the victims "were those injured and the driver was also a part of the Chorus family."
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"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started," Knight said in the statement.
"Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver was also a part of the Chorus family. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community. We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community's love and support. "
One witness who wished not to be named, said that she heard a loud noise. At first she thought it was two cars colliding but then "out of nowhere, we see people just crowding these two bodies."
NBC 6 Meteorologist Steve MacLaughlin, who served as a co-Grand Marshall for the parade, was at the front of the parade when the incident happened. After delays to the start of the parade, he walked around and he said people were still celebrating.
"I don't know if everyone knew what happened. I heard a lot of rumors and we don't know which ones are true yet," MacLaughlin said. "But, for me personally, it felt like it wasn't a time to celebrate, so I actually came home."
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who saw the incident happen, described the event as a terrorist attack on the LGBTQ+ community.
But Wilton Manors City Commissioner, Chris Caputo, tweeted that "it seems increasingly probable that it was an accident."
The parade has been canceled due to the incident, but police said that other events related to the festival will continue and that "there is no danger to the public."
Florida officials lamented the events.
Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz said she was "shaken and devastated" by the events and thanked first responders "for their heroic efforts."
Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate, Nikki Fried, said she was at the event and tweeted, "All of us here all praying for them and their families."
State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle also tweeted her thoughts on the matter saying that "hate of any kind has #NoPlaceInOurCommunity."
This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.
