On Saturday, the white truck that drove into a crowd at the Wilton Manors Stonewall Parade and Festival in Florida caused national outrage, as it resulted in one dead person, and another one injured.
The Fort Lauderdale mayor called the deadly incident a “terrorist attack” and the FBI helped the investigation of the alleged “hate crime.”
The South Florida Sentinel quoted the Fort Lauderdale mayor’s reaction to the incident:
Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, where truck ran into crowd at Pride parade: “This was a terrorist attack against the LGBTQ community. He came here to destroy people. This was clearly no accident.” https://t.co/95mxmE8Siy
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) June 20, 2021
Dean Trantalis said:
“This was a terrorist attack against the LGBTQ community. He came here to destroy people. This was clearly no accident.”
He added that the driver jumped out of the truck after the crash and “the police grabbed him”:
“He was screaming vulgarities.”
It was reported that others who did not know the driver agreed that it appeared to be intentional.
Spectator Christina Currie said:
“We were at the start of the parade, right in front of Fort Lauderdale High School. All of a sudden there was a loud revving of a truck and a crash through a fence. It was definitely an intentional act right across the lanes of traffic.”
Yet, one reporter at WPLG Local 10 took another approach and managed to piece together several pieces of information that paint a different picture: that the suspect is unlikely to have been a ‘terrorist’ and the incident was accidental indeed.
Here’s our first look at the truck in that hit at least 2 people at the #Pride parade in @WiltonManorsCty. I’ve covered up the license plate in case this was a horrible accident. @WPLGLocal10 Per @jojoWPLG pic.twitter.com/uj4aBq0Hws
— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) June 20, 2021
Ian Margol reported:
“Here’s our first look at the truck in that hit at least 2 people at the parade in @WiltonManorsCty. I’ve covered up the license plate in case this was a horrible accident.”
He obtained footage of the suspect being led away by police.
This is believed to be the driver of the truck, he is in custody.
🎥- @delarosaWPLG #Pride2021 @WiltonManorsCty https://t.co/Uq6sUjHNuM pic.twitter.com/VIC4yGSvZ8— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) June 19, 2021
The Sun Sentinel noted:
“Video posted to Twitter by a WPLG-Ch. 10 reporter appeared to show the driver being taken into custody wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the chorus on the back. “
Moreover, although the chorus’s president Justin Knight refused to reveal the driver’s identity, he stated definitely:
“This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community.”
UPDATE: President of the Ft Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus says they believe this was a tragic accident and confirm the driver was a member of their group. @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/RjvcCTE6cl
— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) June 20, 2021
Knight, who was not at the scene, recognized the driver from the video, and said:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are affected. Our fellow chorus members were those injured, and the driver was a part of the chorus family … To my knowledge, it was an accident. This was not an attack on the LGBTQ community.”
An update on the incident reports that the other person is expected to survive.
The names of the victims were not yet released to the public.
Finally, a bit of good news from the #Pride parade in @WiltonManorsCty and FTL. @ftlauderdalepd says the 2nd victim is expected to survive. FBI now helping with the investigation. They say it’s still too soon to determine intent or accidental. @WPLGLocal10https://t.co/RPxm5HMcum
— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) June 20, 2021
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