At least 2 people struck by truck at Wilton Manors LGBTQ Pride parade in Florida
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida is comforted after a truck drove into a crowd of people during a Pride parade in Wilton Manors near Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. (Photo: Chris Day/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
At least two people were injured after being struck by a pickup truck at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida on Saturday night.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who was at the Stonewall Pride Parade event, along with U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch, confirmed the incident on Twitter and said the driver was in custody.
“I’m lucky to be safe,” Fried tweeted. “All of us here all praying for them and their families.”
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment. It wasn’t immediately known if the driver acted intentionally.
Chris Caputo, a city commissioner in Wilton Manors, said on Twitter it was “increasingly probable it was an accident.” But Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told WSVN-TV the driver accelerated into the crowd, describing the incident as a deliberate attack on the LGBTQ community.
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Photos and video from the scene showed Wasserman Schultz in tears while in a convertible at the parade. A spokesperson for Wasserman Schultz did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Several local news outlets reported the victims were taken to Broward Health Medical Center. The center did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The Wilton Manors Police Department said in a tweet there was no danger to the public.
“A tragic incident occurred at today’s Stonewall event,” Wilton Manors Mayor Scott Newton said in a statement. “Out of respect for everyone involved, the parade has been cancelled and a thorough investigation is being conducted.”
Deutch said on Twitter he was “devastated by the horror we saw at Wilton Manors Pride.”
“I’m so sorry, Wilton Manors. I’m so sorry, my friends,” he wrote.
Florida State Sen. Shevrin “Shev” Jones said on Twitter he was “heartbroken and in shock over what has happened at Wilton Manors Pride.”
“Praying for and sending love to everyone there, including many friends,” Jones wrote.
The Wilton Manors Pride event happens annually in June, according to the event’s website. About an hour after the incident, a Facebook page for the event posted a video of several participants marching down the street.
Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County. It has a population of about 13,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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