Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mayor Dean Trantalis apologized for referring to a fatal accident at the Wilton Manors Pride Parade as a “terrorist attack,” building off an earlier statement in which he said the accident “appeared obvious” to be terrorism.
Trantalis offered his qualified apology at a Sunday night vigil for victims of the accident, which involved a driver hitting two people.
“I regret the fact that I said it was a terrorist attack because we found out that it was not. But I don’t regret my feelings. I don’t regret that I felt terrorized by someone who plowed through the crowd,” Trantalis said, according to NBC Miami.
The mayor issued a statement earlier Sunday before the vigil saying that the event “terrorized me” and that at the time it “appeared obvious to me” what had happened. The mayor said:
Last evening, at the start of what was to be a celebration of pride for the LGBT community and commemoration of our hard-won victories for equality, our community faced the worst of tragedies. The grief of our LGBT community — and greater Fort Lauderdale as a whole — is palpable.
I was an eyewitness to the horrifying events. It terrorized me and all around me. I reported what I saw to law enforcement and had strong concerns about what transpired — concerns for the safety of my community. I feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away.
Law enforcement took what appeared obvious to me and others nearby and investigated further — as is their job. As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture is emerging of an accident in which a truck careened out of control. As a result, one man died, two others were injured and the lives of two members of Congress were at risk. My heart breaks for all impacted by this tragedy.
One man died and another was injured after a 77-year-old man accelerated and hit them soon after the pride parade began. The driver also nearly hit a car carrying Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). The driver had wanted to participate in the parade but couldn’t join on foot because of physical limitations.
Soon after the incident, when few facts were known, Trantalis jumped to issue a statement condemning the accident as an act of terror undertaken to target Wasserman Schultz.
“This is a terrorist attack against the LGBT community,” Trantalis said at the time. “This is exactly what it is. Hardly an accident. It was deliberate, it was premeditated, and it was targeted against a specific person. Luckily they missed that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people.”
The Daily Wire reported: “At the time of Trantalis’ remarks, there was no evidence to suggest the incident was intentional. Further reports indicated that the incident was an accident and that the driver remained on the scene. He also appears to have been part of the parade, assigned to drive a vehicle because he could not walk the length of the parade route.”