'It's a form of terrorism': London, Ont. reacts to Colorado mass shooting
When Kelly Roy went to sleep Saturday night, she did so coming off the high of a successful party night at Lavish, London’s lone queer nightclub she works at.
But she woke up Sunday morning to a very different mood.
"Our phones were just going off like crazy," said Roy.
Roy isn't a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community herself, but she's deeply ingrained in London's queer community as Lavish's operations director.
Friends and colleagues were frantically messaging her about a deadly shooting that happened the night before at a Colorado Springs gay bar. Five people were killed, and 25 more were injured.
"You feel heartbroken," said Roy. “This is a slap in the face to let us know that they're still not safe."
"It really does feel like you're being targeted for something that is simply who you are," said WG Pearson, chair of Western University's Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, who uses they/them pronouns.
"It's a form of terrorism, in its own way," Pearson said. "If you don't behave the way we want you to behave, if you don't become the person we want you to become, we will attack you."
Lavish is next scheduled to be open Friday night, and Roy says that isn't changing. She said they're comfortable with the space's safety.
"We have security at the door all the time,” she said. “No one is able to bring in a bag.”
"This is not going to change anything for us," added Pearson. "It's going to make us sad. It's going to make us angry, but we're going to persist. We're going to carry on in the face of all of this.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.