Brussels, 13/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 12 and Monday 13 June, the leaders of the European institutions condemned the gun attack on a gay nightclub which left at least 50 dead and 53 wounded during the night of 11-12 June in Orlando, Florida (USA). The attack was later claimed by ISIL.
“On behalf of the Commission”, European Commission spokesperson Mina Andreeva expressed deepest condolences to the victims of this “horrendous” shooting, an attack on “our freedom”. This is an “affront to all that we stand for, to our values”, she added, stating that the EU would continue to promote and defend the shared values of equality and non-discrimination.
In a press release published during the evening of 12 June, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini also spoke of the values of equality and non-discrimination. In her words, “this terrible attack” is “a tragedy not only for the American people but for the whole world - as all the massacres of people killed for their faith, for their sexual orientations, for their beliefs, in many countries are”. Mogherini highlighted the EU's solidarity with the people of America, “and especially the LGBTI community which this hateful terror attack targeted”.
Many European leaders responded on Twitter. European Council President Donald Tusk thus tweeted that “Europe mourns the victims of the horrific gun attack in Orlando”. “Their families and the people of Florida are in our thoughts and prayers”, he added. “Deeply shocked” by the many casualties of Orlando shooting, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said his thoughts were with the relatives of the victims and US authorities, and that “we must stay united against terrorism”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)