BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dozens of people gathered in Niagara Square to remember the life of Sam Nordquist. The 24-year-old was tortured for over a month and killed in Canandaigua earlier this month.
According to New York State Police, Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was visiting Canandaigua, New York from Minnesota.
Police say 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, the president of Outspoken For Equality tells me that this act of violence against Nordquist outraged her.
In response, Leader hosted a vigil in memory of late Nordquist 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. They need to know that they have support, and we are all here with them and we are in this together," Leader said.
Seven people have been charged in the death of Sam Nordquist.
Authorities say his killers were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+ and there was no evidence of a hate crime.
The Westminster Presbyterian Church on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo will host another community gathering in memory of Nordquist on Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m.
