Springfield police are investigating after a threat was found Monday morning outside the GLO Center on Commercial Street. The GLO Center is a nonprofit that serves the LGBTQIA+ community.
Its executive director, Aaron Schekorra, said he was on the phone and opening up the center Monday morning, and when he opened the door, he noticed something gold on the ground. As he looked closer, he noticed it was two bullets. He took them inside, and a team member asked if there was anything written on them.
"Scratched on them — there's a word on each of them. One of them says in all caps "die," and the other one says a slur for queer people, and it starts with an 'f,' that I'd rather not repeat on the radio," said Schekorra. "And so, kind of at that point, you know, we realized that these were left — they were left intentionally in front of our building using language that's meant to attack our community."
Bullet casings found after influencer, Charlie Kirk’s, murder were found to have etchings on them. Many referenced the gaming community, but some were anti-fascist messages.
Schekorra called the Springfield Police Department immediately and filed a report. SPD spokeswoman Cris Swaters said Monday afternoon that the case been assigned to a detective, and it’s an active investigation.
Meanwhile, Schekorra made the decision to immediately close the GLO Center for the day and cancel a peer support group meeting that was scheduled. They also decided to cancel their annual meeting set for Monday night and all of their youth meetings this week. He said they might offer virtual support group opportunities this week for youth "so the kids can connect if they go to different schools."
Schekorra said the board will decide what to do about Pride on C-Street set for this weekend. He said they want to go into a large event with confidence in their safety.
Schekorra said he's received threats against him personally, and when that's happened, he's made decisions for himself. But when a threat is made against the GLO Center, "it is also kind of a threat against our community and our identities," he said. "So it's important that we let folks know so they can make the best decision for themselves...at the end of the day, you have to do what's best for our community."
While he said they never want to be in a position where they're making decisions out of fear, they have to protect the people they serve.
The GLO Center will provide updates on social media and in their newsletter.
