Houston LGBTQ bar implements higher safety measures in response to Colorado Springs Club Q shooting
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- What was once considered a safe haven in Colorado Springs for the LGBTQ community is now the scene of the latest mass shooting in America.
Law enforcement confirm at least five people are dead and more than two dozen are injured.
PREVIOUS: Club Q shooting: Gunman kills 5 at LGBTQ nightclub before patrons confront and stop him, police say
It happened nearly a thousand miles away but the tragedy has made ripples across our community.
"It's very devastating that the shooting happened in Colorado," Houston ReBar employee Jessie Perez said.
Law enforcement is investigating if it was a hate crime, but Houston community members like Montrose Community Center spokesperson Austin Davis Ruiz point out the shooting unfolded minutes before Nov. 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance.
"We try hard to fight for our rights to fight for a life free of discrimination of hate... and it is so difficult to be able to continue that fight when atrocities continue to happen like this across the country," Ruiz told ABC13.
He says the shooting in Colorado Springs brings up old wounds of when 49 people were massacred at Orlando's Pulse night club in 2016.
"After the Pulse shooting that happened in Florida. I got together with a lot of the local LGBTQ clubs and started to put together a plan that would better protect this community," Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen recalled.
Rosen says now they have constables at LGBTQ venues across his policing district.
ReBar is one of those places. The general manager at ReBar told ABC13 that they are taking extra security precautions in an attempt to keep their customers safe.
"Making sure no one has any large items in their bags. All bags are searched and they do a small pat down to make sure no items are carried inside in their pockets or anything that are harmful," Rebar General Manager Daniel Banda said.
For updates on this story, follow Daniela Hurtado on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
