HOUSTON - Houston’s LGBT Pride Festival and Parade is just a couple weekends away.
In light of the mass shooting in Orlando, police are reevaluating their plan to keep the event safe.
The Houston Police Department gave an update about security plans Monday afternoon.
“Here’s what people can expect to see. They can expect to see additional officers in police cars, additional officers on foot, and additional officers on bike,” said Executive Assistant Chief George Buenik. “There will be a large presence so we deter any criminal activity. Then also so we have adequate resources to react to anything that does seem to happen.”
Buenik also said there would be officers in plain clothes monitoring the event.
Police encourage people at the festival and parade to report any suspicious behavior.
“We want people to come downtown to enjoy the festival. We want people to come downtown to enjoy the parade. We don’t want them to be in any type of fear, because we’re going to be down there trying to keep everybody safe,” said Buenik
The Pride Festival and Parade is organized by Pride Houston.
“Pride Houston has been working diligently with the City of Houston to enhance security measures to ensure the safety of all attending. The LGBT community will not let fear control us or force us into hiding. We’ve come too far in our fight for equality to turn back now,” said Frankie Quijano, CEO of Pride Houston.
The LGBT Pride Festival and Parade will be held on Saturday, June 25 in downtown Houston.
For more information on the event, click here: https://pridehouston.org/event/festival-and-parade/