WASHINGTON – The driver of a pickup truck slammed into a crowd gathering for a Pride parade yesterday in south Florida, killing at least one man, US media reports said.
It was not immediately clear if this was a deliberate assault.
The incident happened at the start of the LGBTQ parade in the town of Wilton Manors near Fort Lauderdale. The driver was later taken into custody.
The truck was lined up with floats for the parade but hit the gas and ran into people, Local 10 News said.
At least two men were hit and one died, Fort Lauderdale mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade, told the broadcaster.
He said the truck had actually targeted the car of a Democratic congressman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was in a convertible waiting to take part in the procession, but narrowly missed her.
“This is a terrorist attack against the LGBT community,” Trantalis told Local 10 News.
“This is exactly what it is. Hardly an accident. It was deliberate, it was premeditated, and it was targeted against a specific person. Luckily, they missed that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people.” – AFP, June 20, 2021
