INWOOD — Dozens of residents gathered Monday night to stand together to show support for the victims of the Orlando massacre.
The mood was somber in front of Dichter’s Pharmacy on 4953 Broadway, as several hugged, sang and lit candles, joining in the national outpouring grief from Sunday morning’s shooting in Orlando, Fla. It was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, claiming the lives of 49 people and leaving 53 people injured.
The vigil was part of several throughout the city, including one held by State Sen. Adriano Espaillat and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez in Bennett Park in Washington Heights and the Stonewall Inn on 53 Christopher St. in Greenwich Village.
“I felt compelled, as a business owner in Inwood, that I had to do something,” said Manny Ramirez, owner of the decades-old Dichter Pharmacy. “We’re about healing and love.”
Ramirez said the news of the event Sunday morning “shook me from deep within.”
The performers at the vigil included conductor and organizer of the “Listen Closely Inwood Chamber Music” James Waldo, violinists Claudia Schaer and Heidi Schaul-Yoder, pianist Alyona Aksyonova, and Ruth Cunningham on the harp.
“We’re all human beings. We need to heal,” Ramirez added.
