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Who is Stonewall truck driver? Man plows through Florida Pride Parade, kills 1

One person died when a white pickup truck lined up with other vehicles taking part in Stonewall Pride Parade hit spectators in Wilton Manors, Florida

WILTON MANORS, FLORIDA: One person was allegedly killed and another was left critically injured on Saturday, June 19, after a driver plowed into a Pride parade in what the Fort Lauderdale mayor has called a “terrorist attack against the LGBT community”.

The incident took place during the Stonewall Pride Parade in Wilton Manors, Florida, a neighborhood around 10 miles north of Fort Lauderdale. A driver in a white pickup truck lined up with other vehicles taking part in the parade and then hit on the gas, striking spectators, witnesses said. The police department hasn't confirmed the status of the victims, but Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a tweet that one of the victims has died. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the event, also told local media that one of the victims had died. A third victim is said to be injured, but their condition remains stable.

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We have earlier reported such hate crimes against the LGBTQ community, including the murder of TikTok teenager Jason Fox, the alleged honor killing of Alireza Monfared and a gruesome Louisiana case where a man named Chance Seneca, 19, tried to dismember gay Grindr date to keep limbs as 'trophies, food'.

Trantalis described the moments leading up to the incident to WPLG Local 10 News. “What we witnessed was, as we were beginning to assemble the parade, I was walking with Congressman Ted Deutch, and the parade had just begun, and we saw people lining up, ready to move, and all of a sudden this white pickup truck dashed right through the crowd, barely missing Congresswoman (Debbie) Wasserman-Schultz's car, by inches, and just… smashed through a gate, smashed into a landscaping company, and he hit two people,” Trantalis told WPLG.

In one of the footage, Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) was seen crying as she sat in a convertible that was taking part in the parade. In a statement, Schultz said she was “deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost and others seriously injured at tonight’s Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade”. “We’re praying for the victims and their loved ones as law enforcement investigates, and I am providing them with whatever assistance I can. I am so heartbroken by what took place at this celebration,” she wrote.

“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,” Christina Currie, who was in attendance at the parade, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Trantalis stated that it was “hardly an accident,” but the police are yet to confirm whether it was planned. The driver is in custody, according to WPLG. 

Sharing a couple of pictures from the scene, one person tweeted, "Photos from the scene where a truck drove into a crowd taking part in The Stonewall Pride Parade and Street Festival in Wilton Manors. Rep. Wasserman Schultz is seen reacting to the incident. @SunSentinel." Attorney Aaron Parnas said, "I am praying that the two people injured during today’s Pride parade in Wilton Manors are okay. May the driver of the truck be brought to swift justice."

Rep Ted Deutch said, "Devastated by the horror we saw at Wilton Manors Pride. Mourning life taken & praying for injured & families of both. Intensely grateful for police who sprung to action before us to save lives. I’m so sorry, Wilton Manors. I’m so sorry, my friends." Brandon Wolf tweeted, "My heart breaks for everyone impacted at Wilton Manors Pride. I’ll be honest, a week after the anniversary of Pulse, I got a familiar lump in my throat. After months of anti-LGBTQ hate as political fuel & intensifying outrage, feels like we’re all waiting for the hammer to drop."