A march and rally in memory of Mark
Carson, a gay man who died Friday at the hands of a gunman, will take
place on Monday in New York City.
Carson, 32, was shot in the head around
midnight in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. He died
at Beth Israel Hospital.
The suspected gunman attempted to evade
capture, running five blocks before police collared him at West Third
Street and MacDougal Street, NY1
reported.
He has since confessed to killing the
victim, who lived in Brooklyn.
Police said the suspect hurled
homophobic remarks shortly before he allegedly pulled out a .38
caliber revolver and killed the victim with one bullet to the head.
Carson is the fourth victim of anti-gay
violence in the city over the last several weeks, but the first
fatality.
On Saturday, hundreds of people
gathered at midnight at the site where Carson was murdered. Mourners
neatly arranged flowers and candles around pictures of Carson to
create an impromptu street memorial.
“Our hearts grieve for Mark's loved
ones,” GLAAD spokesman Wilson Cruz said in a statement. “While
our community has made progress, this is a stark and sobering
reminder of the rife homophobia that still exists in our culture.
These crimes are intended to scare and silence LGBT people. However
as a proud New York native, I am confident that our community and our
city will not be silenced, but will rather come together to stop this
rash of senseless violence. Speaker Christine Quinn, other elected
officials, and the New York City Anti-Violence Project continue to
showcase strong leadership in addressing the safety of LGBT New
Yorkers. Yet, we are reminded still that, until we rid our society
of the discrimination that allows us to be seen as inferior and less
than human, we will never truly be safe, even in one of the most
accepting cities in the world.”
The march will begin at the LGBT
Community Center of New York at 5:30PM and conclude at the murder
site.