"Law enforcement took what appeared obvious to me and others nearby and investigated further - as is their job.
Fort Lauderdale police said the 77-year-old driver had. "I feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away," Trantalis said. The man who drove a pickup truck into a Pride parade in Florida, killing one and injuring another, acted unintentionally, officials say. Trantalis clarified his statement to Fox News a day later, saying he drew his conclusion based on his own eyewitness account.ĬLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER "We owe it to our community to conduct a thorough and complete investigation and are working in conjunction with our partners at the FBI to complete that," the department said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.įollowing the incident on Saturday, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis referred to the incident as a "terrorist attack" against the LGBT community but faced online criticism by some for coming to such a conclusion with minimal information. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is conducting an investigation into the incident in coordination with the FBI. As the Chorus family mourns together, we thank the community for their love and understanding," the chorus group said in a statement. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic death and injuries that occurred as a result of an unfortunate accident at the start of the Stonewall Pride Parade. ONE DEAD AND ONE HOSPITALIZED AFTER TRUCK DRIVES THROUGH PRIDE EVENT IN FLORIDA: POLICE A DUI investigation of the driver was conducted on the scene, but no signs of impairment were found. The driver, who died in the crash, is reported to have been 77 years old and had ailments that prevented him from walking the duration of the parade. Newsweek reached out to Trantalis, but did not hear back by publication time.The Fort Lauderdale Police Department said the two men were members of the city's gay men's chorus. Trantlis has yet to comment on the situation. Government officials shouldn't be able accuse someone of *terrorism* so flippantly without facts," Claremont Institute Senior Fellow, David Reaboi tweeted.įurther criticism rang out on Twitter asking that the mayor retract his premature statement and apologize for labeling the incident as a terrorist attack. "I hope gets sued and then removed from office or defeated. "Would have been neat if the mayor waited for facts," journalist Carmine Sabia said. The truck hit a nearby gate and came to a stop. The driver was taken into custody, according to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG. Authorities have not said whether it was a deliberate act. Officials have not confirmed the extent of the victims’ injuries. Video of the arrest showed the driver wearing a gay men's chorus t-shirt, which was more than enough to sew reasonable doubt about the intent of the driver," author and radio host Grant Stern said in a tweet. Florida-USA- Two people were hit by a truck at a South Florida gay pride march on Saturday evening. "If the Mayor had waited even 15 minutes, then he could've made a reasoned statement. The Wilton Manors City Commissioner, Chris Caputo, tweeted shortly after the crash that killed one person, saying that he was "filled with sadness," but "it seems increasingly probable that it was an accident."Ĭriticism on social media aimed at Trantalis began after a video of him calling the event a terrorist attack was posted to Twitter. One person died and one was injured in the incident that is still under investigation. Police investigate the scene where a pickup truck drove into a crowd of people at a Pride parade on Jin Wilton Manors, Florida. "To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community," Knight said in a statement to NBC. This is not going to happen in my city or any city."įollowing the accident, the president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus, Justin Knight, identified the driver as a member of the chorus. "This is disgusting we will not stand for this. "What we saw was a terrorist attack on the LGBT community," Trantilis said. Trantalis echoed his statement after learning that one of the people struck had died. Luckily, they missed that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people." It was deliberate, it was premeditated and it was targeted against a specific person. The reporter then asked Trantalis if he believed the crash was an accident. "This was a terrorist attack against the LGBT community this is exactly what it is," he said. One piece of the #FortLauderdale story that is being under-reported is Mayor alluding to Debbie Wasserman Shultz being an intended target of a terrorist with seemingly no evidence.