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Anchorage clergy, police and civic leaders joined a tearful crowd Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil to memorialize victims of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
The gathering, which drew about 100 people to the front lawn of the First Presbyterian Church at 10th Avenue and G Street downtown, just off the Delaney Park Strip, featured Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Anchorage Police Department Chief Chris Tolley, as well as clergy and nonprofit leaders.
The message was one of the importance of community and tolerance in a city as diverse as Anchorage in the wake of a mass killing that targeted people at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
"We defy extremism by being ourselves," Berkowitz told the crowd.
Chief Tolley told the crowd that "we're on the other side of the country but our hearts are broken just the same."
"Fifty lives were ended not because they were hurting anyone … but because of who they loved," he said.
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Later Tolley said he felt it was important for the city's police chief to "let the community know the police department is there for all of them," he said. "That doesn't always exist in other communities in our nation."
As the speakers wrapped up and people began to disperse, Larry Kairaiuak and his friend Antonio Huaquivil stood talking at the edge of the sidewalk.
Originally from Chile, Huaquivil moved to Alaska to live "an open life" in the gay community in Alaska. He said he had found community and acceptance in Anchorage and felt it was important to join with others in mourning the losses in Florida.
"We take care of each other," he said. "This is one of the most friendly and safe places. We hope nothing happens here like this."
Florida is a long way from Alaska, Larry Kairaiuak said. But it felt close on Sunday. When he heard about the violence, Kairaiuak left a voicemail for a friend near Orlando.
"I know he's probably not there," Kairaiuak said. "But I'd feel better hearing his voice."
Correction: This story originally attributed the quote "We defy extremism by being ourselves," to Identity, Inc. Director Drew Phoenix, not Mayor Ethan Berkowitz.