A vigil held in memory of Brianna Ghey was temporarily disrupted after a group of young men hurled shocking homophobic abuse at hundreds of gatherers.
The men were seen spewing expletive-filled slurs, including ‘f*** LGBT rights’, at those in attendance at the vigil in Birmingham city centre on Friday evening (February 17).
A sea of mourners, which included members of the LGBTQ+ community, had poured into Birmingham's Gay Village to pay their respects to the 16-year-old girl from Warrington.
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Brianna was found with stab wounds in a village park in Cheshire on Saturday, February 11, where she was pronounced dead at the scene. A boy and a girl, both 15, have been charged with her murder and appeared in court earlier this week.
Footage from the vigil, which was shown to BirminghamLive but not publicly shared, saw individuals shout “f*** LGBT rights”.
Mourners in the crowd were heard responding: "no one's telling you to be here." Another is heard asking the group to ‘calm down now please’.
A further video shared on Twitter shared a separate moment where an interview with trans activist Eva Echo was interrupted by another group shouting "f*** LGBT f*** you all."
Speaking at the scene, Eva Echo said: "And that's exactly why we need to come together."
Addressing the solemn crowd on Friday February 17, vigil organisers said the loss of Brianna had 'deeply affected the trans community.'
"We stand with Brianna and send our condolences to Brianna’s family in this difficult time," said Adam Khan, co-facilitator of TranSpectrum. "[It] will leave a lasting impact on Brianna’s loved ones - this is a great loss to our community."
The sprawling crowd was filled with people holding lit candles and flowers to pay tribute to Brianna. Others attended with signs which read "Brum Against Hate" and "Say Her Name".
Meanwhile donations on a GoFundMe crowdfunding page set up for Brianna's family have passed £100,000. A statement from Brianna’s family reads: "Brianna was a much-loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister.
"She was a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her. Brianna was beautiful, witty and hilarious. Brianna was strong, fearless and one of a kind."
A number of local politicians were present at the gathering in Birmingham. Kings Norton councillor Alex Aitkenm said: "So proud of our city for coming out in force to stand against hate, and to mourn for the life that Brianna Ghey deserved but that was cruelly taken away from her.
“We must do better. We need to challenge transphobia and stand up for trans rights. Rest in pride, Brianna."
A vigil was also held in her hometown of Warrington and in Manchester earlier this week, where mourners attended a candlelight memorial at Sackville Gardens on Wednesday evening (February 15). Dennis Queen of Manchester Trans Rise Up, which organised the event, said: "People have organised the vigil tonight to remember Brianna, to show solidarity with her family and also to give people a chance to come together and support each other.
"And most of all, to show trans young people that they are not alone, and that lots of us support them. I think it's hopeful to see that so many people are on side with us as trans people, and on side with this lovely young woman who has had her life cut short, but at the same time it's frightening for everyone as well."
Brianna's family said earlier this week they had been 'overwhelmed by support and compassion' from across the country.
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