BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dozens of people gathered in Niagara Square on Saturday to remember the life of Sam Nordquist. The 24-year-old was tortured and killed in Canandaigua earlier this month.
New York State Police said Nordquist, a transgender man, was visiting from Minnesota. According to police, he was tortured for more than a month and eventually murdered by a group of people who left his body in a field.
Ellen Leader with Outspoken For Equality tells me that this act of violence against Nordquist outraged her. In response, she hosted a vigil in honor of him and hoped this could be a chance to rally Western New York's LGBTQ+ community together.
"Our trans brothers and sisters need to know that they have allies fighting for them," Leader said. "They need to know that they have support, and we're all here with them and we're in this together."
Seven people have been charged in the death of Sam Nordquist. Officials said his killers were known to each other and identified as LGBTQ+ with no evidence of a hate crime.
The Westminster Presbyterian Church on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo will host another community gathering in memory of Nordquist at 7 p.m. March 2.
