Dove Cameron used her American Music Awards acceptance speech to honour the victims of the Colorado LGBT+ club shooting.
On Saturday (19 November), the FBI joined an investigation in Colorado Springs after a gunman killed five people and injured 25 others after opening fire within moments upon entering a LGBT+ nightclub.
During her acceptance speech for New Artist of the Year award at Sunday’s (20 November) awards ceremony, Cameron dedicated her trophy to the “queer community at large”.
“You guys have carved out such a space for me to be myself and to write music about it and I’ve never felt safer or more loved and more supported and I hope I can give you some semblance of that same feeling in my music,” she said.
“On the heels of the tragedy at Club Q in Colorado Springs, I want to remind everyone how important queer visibility is and how important our community is.”
Cameron added: “And I want to direct your attention to organizations like GLAAD and the Trevor Project for what you can do right now. I want to remind you that you are made absolutely right. And you are so loved.”
Police and the district attorney’s office have named 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich as a suspect for the Colorado club shooting.
The suspect reportedly carried an AR-15-style rifle. Two firearms were recovered from the scene.
Police responded within minutes after several 911 calls were made from the scene just before midnight on Saturday, as the club hosted drag performances and a DJ.
They had been scheduled to host an event to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday.
At least “two heroic people inside the club confronted and fought with the suspect” within minutes after he entered, according to chief Adrian Vasquez.
