Among the 50 killed and at least 53 wounded in the Orlando shooting was Luis Vielma. According to a story about the victims from NPR, Vielma was a 22-year-old resident of Sanford, Florida. He also happened to work at one of the rides at Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Orlando.
After hearing of the tragedy, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling shared her sorrow in a series of tweets, taking time to recognize Vielma in particular.
Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can’t stop crying. #Orlando pic.twitter.com/Nz2ZCWxNsS
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 13, 2016
In addition to sharing a photo of Vielma in his Gryffindor uniform, Rowling shared the tweets of many other individuals remembering happy moments with Vielma. Some are personal anecdotes from friends; others are tales of brief interactions with Vielma at the theme park. All are affirming of the enormity of this loss.
One tweet reads, “He was the guy in the breakroom you liked four seconds after walking in.” Another states, “I can’t believe such a kind soul is gone.” Through this senseless act of violence, Luis Vielma’s memory may live on in the stories and experiences others have to share of him.
Though this entire event is devastating, Rowling’s kind words and acknowledgement of the event will hopefully bring the issue of gun violence the exposure it needs until we are able to find a solution. The first step to solving this problem is bringing it to the fore and talking about it. We must find a way to avoid sensationalizing and dehumanizing (both the victims and the perpetrator) and come up with a way to ensure that mass shootings become less a part of our daily lives.