An interfaith prayer vigil takes place tonight in front of Haverhill City Hall to show of solidarity against the “act of terrorism” in Orlando last weekend.
Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini has invited members of the city’s Christian, Jewish, Muslim and gay and lesbian communities to gather at 6 p.m., Tuesday, for an outdoor prayer vigil in front of the flagpole at city hall, 4 Summer St., “in memory of the lives lost in Orlando,” according to a statement released Monday evening. Fiorentini reached out Monday to the head of the local Islamic community, Imam Abdessamad Qesmi of the Islamic Society of Greater Haverhill. He also indicated he would attend the Mosque in Haverhill Friday night to join with Muslim leaders in condemning the shooting incident in Orlando.
“Our community stands with the residents of Orlando and we stand united with our brothers and sisters of all denominations opposed to hatred and acts of terrorism and violence,” Fiorentini said. “We are all Americans, and we are all united against this act of terrorism.”
As WHAV reported, alleged shooter Omar Mateen, 29, was reportedly shot and killed by an Orlando SWAT team after taking dozens of hostages at the Pulse gay nightclub which was having a Latin night. Massachusetts State Police Sunday afternoon identified a connection between the shootings that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others—the worst mass shooting in U.S. history—and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Authorities learned that the Orlando nightclub gunman, during his rampage, pledged allegiance to ISIS and referenced the Tsarnaev brothers, the terrorists who exploded bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon, according to state police.
“The Islamic community of Greater Haverhill stands will all other religious and civic leaders in condemning this horrible act of violence and terrorism. The individual who committed this horrible act does not speak for us or for our religion,” Qesmi said.
“We are all Americans, and as Americans, we stand united with all other Americans in condemning this act.”