BREAKING Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
WARNING: Details in this story may be disturbing to some
In the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire inside Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., killing 49 people and injuring more than 50.
At the time, it was the U.S.’s deadliest mass shooting.
The victims were overwhelmingly Latinx and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, and the global outpouring of grief and solidarity resonated deeply in the queer community.
Survivors and allies are now marking the five-year anniversary in the midst of a global pandemic that limits the ability to gather together and grieve, during a month meant to celebrate acceptance and pride.
Orlando Torres was in the restroom at Pulse when the gunman began shooting, held hostage while Mateen rampaged through the club and then called authorities, pledging his allegiance to the terror group ISIS.
“It’s unbelievable that five years have passed already,” Torres told CTV News Channel on Saturday. “Every time that there’s a mass shooting out there, it opens up our wounds and reflects back on what we went through, which seems like yesterday.”
Torres was able to reconnect with the two SWAT officers who rescued him from the shooting that night.
“I was trying to express my sincere thank you but I started breaking down, it was hard to express the words quickly as I was deeply touched,” he said.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to make Pulse nightclub – which has remained closed since the shooting – a national memorial site.
Reflecting on the support he and other survivors received, Torres said the tragedy changed a lot of people’s minds about the queer community.
“It’s not just our community – we gained support from around the world,” he said, noting that LGBTQ2S+ and heterosexual people came out to donate blood to the wounded after the shooting.
“It opened up a lot of minds and hearts that we are not just members of the LGBTQ community, we’re children of God, we’re human, we hurt, we bleed,” Torres said. “We saw the compassion.”
----
If the details in this story have affected you, Canadians can visit the Crisis Service Canada site to find resources in their area.
The Kids Help Phone is available is available 24 hours a day for Canadians aged five to 29. Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868, or download the Always There app for additional support.
The Hope for Wellness Hotline is available for all Indigenous persons across Canada who need immediate crisis intervention. Call 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free) or connect to the online Hope for Wellness chat.
Hope for Wellness telephone and online counselling is available in English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations is calling on Air Canada to 'make things right' with the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who said her headdress was removed from an airplane cabin during a flight this week.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
A CSIS officer's allegations that she was raped repeatedly by a superior in agency vehicles set off a harassment inquiry, but also triggered an investigation into her that concluded the alleged attacks were a “misuse” of agency vehicles by the woman.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.