HOUSTON — The latest mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub occurred 958 miles from Houston.
"This is a horrible crime,” an official in Colorado Springs said.
But the local community is also feeling the pain.
“I was devastated when I woke up and saw the news of Club Q today,” Montrose Center communications and marketing manager Austin Davis Ruiz said. "It immediately brought back feelings that happened when Pulse happened.”
While the investigation in Colorado is just getting started, Ruiz and others attribute overall violence against the LGBTQ and other communities to increasingly divisive rhetoric and political initiatives.
"This is happening against communities when they are villainized and when they are talked about in a discriminatory way," Ruiz said. "And this is something that everybody should care about because next, it could be your community, right?"
The Houston Police Department shared its condolences to victims on social media and said there are no specific local threats although officers remain vigilant.
Meanwhile, at least one popular Montrose area club said it was making changes.
"It has always been very important to us to do our very best to provide a safe and welcoming environment for the entire LGBTQ community," Eagle Houston owners said in a statement. "Although we have incorporated bag checks and wanding for guests entering our festivals, both will now become part of our nightly security protocol."
Ruiz said he hopes violence can truly be thwarted when all communities come together.
"This is about ensuring that people can live their lives safely," Ruiz said.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in Colorado were quick to condemn the mass shooting.
Eagle Houston's full statement:
The entire Houston Eagle family is devastated by the tragic news of the loss of innocent lives and many injuries at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Our hearts go out to the victims and their families during this extraordinarily difficult time.
It has always been very important to us to do our very best to provide a safe and welcoming environment for the entire LGBTQ community.
Although we have incorporated bag checks and wanding for guests entering our festivals, both will now become part of our nightly security protocol.
We will do anything possible to protect our community.
ACTOUTHTX statement:
ACTOUTHTX is appalled by the tragedy that occurred at Club Q, on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance. The rise in anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation witnessed throughout the past year has accomplished nothing but empower hate-minded individuals and threaten the safety of already-vulnerable populations.
We refuse to stand idly as our siblings are taken from us, silenced in spaces we ourselves have erected to provide a semblance of normalcy. Nothing about this pervasive hatred, fueled by a culture of disinformation and carried out by bad-actors, is normal. We vow to continue fostering a safe and healing community, in the face of all those who reject the true meaning of loving equally. Enough is enough.
Pride Houston statement:
Pride Houston is deeply saddened by the tragic gun violence at Club Q in Colorado Springs. We have the victims and their families in our hearts. The Houston LGBTQIA+ community stands with Colorado Springs during this difficult time. Pride Houston is very proud of our fellow queer community members at Club Q for subduing the gunman, saving lives, and preventing further tragedy.
Today as we honor Trans Day of Remembrance, we as a community will continue to be out and proud. We will not give in to fear, hate, and supremacy.
Here's an update that Colorado authorities provided on Sunday: