San Diego Councilman Todd Gloria waves to the crowd during a recent Pride parade. Chris Stone photo
San Diego Councilman Todd Gloria waves to the crowd during a recent Pride parade. Photo by Chris Stone

Updated at 5:44 p.m. June 13, 2016:

The San Diego City Council and county Board of Supervisors opened their meetings Monday with moments of silence in memory of those killed and wounded at a gay nightclub in Orlando in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

“Words really fail at moments like this with something so horrific — the images and the parents looking for their children — it’s heartbreaking and a lot of folks are hurting right now,” said Councilman Todd Gloria, who represents the historic center of San Diego’s gay and lesbian community in Hillcrest.

Supervisor Dave Roberts, who is also gay, introduced the moment of silence at the county board’s meeting but made no further comment.

A 6:30 p.m. vigil and march is scheduled in San Diego to remember the 49 people killed in the shootings and 53 who were injured when a gunman opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub early Sunday. Omar Mir Seddique Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS in a 911 call before being killed by police, according to the FBI.

The march will begin at the San Diego LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre St., and go to Rich’s, a nightclub that Gloria called San Diego’s equivalent to Pulse.

Earlier today, Mayor Kevin Faulconer conducted a roundtable discussion that included Gloria, local LGBT leaders, restaurant owners and San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.

“They discussed ways the community can work together with local law enforcement to remain vigilant, especially ahead of next month’s San Diego Pride Parade,” mayoral spokesman Matt Awbrey told City News Service

In the wake of the massacre, Zimmerman said local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are working together to “ensure we remain safe as a region.”

Officers have increased security as a precaution and are focusing on locations where crowds gather. Zimmerman said the ramped-up security measures would remain in effect until “further information is known.”

“We want all San Diegans and their guests to feel safe,” Zimmerman said. “This is yet another reminder for us all to remain vigilant and to stand together in protecting our community.”

She asked residents to report anything suspicious.

“We ask if you see, hear, or know something, to please say something,” Zimmerman said. “Working together as a community, we will protect our safety and our freedom.”

Business owners in Hillcrest called for increased security and police patrols.

“For decades, nightclubs are a place where LGBT people have come and they feel safe and they can be who they are, and so this attack at a nightclub strikes at the heart of that,” said Benjamin Nicholls, executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association. “So we want to make sure that our nightclubs are still safe.”

The San Diego Regional Hate Crimes Coalition issued a statement expressing sadness at the shootings, along with solidarity with the LGBT and Muslim communities.

“We are horrified at the tragic result of the hatred that built up in this individual that drove him to commit such premeditated acts of violence against innocent people,” the coalition statement said. “We ask that San Diegans attempt to understand the feelings of San Diego’s LGBT community over this tragedy, the powerful effect which it is having on them, and appreciate that they deserve our support.”

The statement also asked San Diegans not to blame or retaliate against Muslims for the work of one individual.

— City News Service