The suspect in today’s shooting has been identified as 28-year-old Floyd Corkins II
The suspect who shot a security guard today inside the headquarters of the anti-gay Family Research Council worked as a volunteer at an LGBT community center in Washington, D.C., according to multiple reports.
The suspect, 28-year-old Floyd Corkins II, made a negative reference toward the Family Research Council’s work before opening fire after entering the lobby of the group’s headquarters at about 10:45 a.m. The suspect argued with the security guard before shooting him in the arm. The guard is in stable condition.
Even before it became known that the suspect was a volunteer at the center, a coalition of national LGBT groups responded by issuing a joint statement condemning the shooting. The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, meanwhile, blamed the shooting on the practice of labeling anti-gay groups as hate groups.
I’m sure there will be a lot of debate in the LGBT community over the next few days about how we should best respond to this senseless act of violence, but here’s my initial reaction: Yes, we have crazy people in the LGBT community, too. And in that regard, we truly are just like any other group.
