During the holiday weekend, College Station police and the FBI were notified of a threat against Pride Community Center, which is a local resource group for LGBT and Allied community members.
Center president Kay Dennis told local media someone implied there might be a shooting at their sixth annual Pride Picnic.
According to the center’s Facebook page, that resulted in postponing the picnic from this coming Sunday to a date yet to be set.
News release from Pride Community Center:
Pride Community Center, who has traditionally hosted a July picnic for LGBT and Allied community members, has announced the cancellation of the sixth annual event.
Pride President Kay Dennis cited a threat of violence as the reason for the cancellation.
“We were inviting the community at large with social media, as we always do, “Dennis said. “Someone chose to respond with the implication that there might be a shooting. Our board took that threat seriously.”
Pride’s board of directors were notified when blogger Mandy Perry, who resides in Pennsylvania, saw the comment while attempting to block the person who also left hate speech on her page.
“Mandy is our hero,” Dennis stated. “They saw something and they didn’t ignore it. They called the FBI and then contacted us.”
The poster reblogged Pride’s colorful flyer with the comment “Lock and load. Time to make the news.”
Both College Station police and the FBI are continuing to investigate.
Dennis remains optimistic that the picnic will be rescheduled. “It’s our biggest event, and it’s a lot of fun for everyone. Food, games, the park…people visiting and making new friends. This is not something we want to come to an end.”
