The city of Tel Aviv made sure to show its colors as soon as possible in solidarity with the city of Orlando, Florida in the wake of the worst mass shooting ever recorded in American history.
The city lit up the municipal building to show its support.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin had already both issued statements extending condolences and support within minutes of learning about the attack.
In his tweet, Rivlin said, “To @POTUS: The attack against the LGBT community in #Orlando is cowardly & abhorrent. #Israel stands w/America in the fight against hatred.”
Netanyahu’s statement was a bit longer:
PM Netanyahu's statement on the : Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States. pic.twitter.com/64aojkX5BF— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) June 12, 2016
The attack on the Pulse Orlando night club just south of downtown in the city took the lives of 50 people and left another 53 wounded early Sunday morning.
Hundreds of others were deeply traumatized by the events. Dozens were held hostage by the 29-year-old gunman, an American-born citizen with parents who immigrated to the country from Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Omar Sadiqque Mateen swore allegiance to Islamic State and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a phone call to 911 just prior to carrying out his deadly attack.