Orlando’s gay and Latino communities weren’t the only groups deeply affected by Sunday’s massacre that saw 49 people killed at a gay club and 53 others hospitalized.
Many of them, friends and family say, were part of the region’s steady entertainment business that keeps tourists coming to the many resorts, clubs and theme parks.
“As soon as we heard where this happened, we knew it would have an impact,” said Richie Compton, owner of Metropolis Productions.
One of them was 33-year-old Shane Tomlinson. Compton said Tomlinson had done some shows for him over the past few years. In front of Orlando’s performing arts center, Compton and his wife placed two dozen roses in front of a photo of Tomlinson at a growing makeshift memorial.
“We have a lot of performers who are part of the gay community,” Compton said. “We have reached out to as many people as we could. When we didn’t hear back from Shane, we were hoping that he was a John Doe being treated at the hospital. Now I know that he was probably one of the first ones killed.”
Along with Tomlinson, Compton said a salsa dancer who worked for him, Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35, was also killed.
As recently as Saturday night, before going to Pulse, Tomlinson sang with his band Frequency at Blue Martini nightclub.
“Shane was one of the most talented, sincere and business-minded people I have ever met,” said Lisa Compton. “His onstage presence was just the tip of the iceberg. He was an aggressive businessman.”
Erik Winger said Tomlinson would often host for his live karaoke band at the City Walk at Universal Studios.
“He had a great sense of humor and will be missed,” Winger said. “I don’t know how you wake up one day and this happens. I am just trying to wrap my brain around it.”
Winger and the Comptons gathered for a group hug and went to lunch. But a steady stream of mourners continued to drop off flowers and sign a wall dedicated to both the victims and first responders.
“We felt that the general public needed a way to express themselves,” said Kyle Trager, of Hands on Orlando, part of the same network that includes Hands on Atlanta. “So we wanted to harness that into something productive. This has been a tough weekend in Orlando.”
Nearby, 4-year-old Jude Christofore was getting restless as his father Tim Christofore signed the wall. Tim Christofore said he lost a friend, also a musician, in the massacre.
“It hasn’t all sunk in yet. He was one of us and we are a tight-knit, close community,” Tim Christofore said. “And I just wanted to say thank you.”
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