Students at Independence High School in Glendale, Ariz. showed their support for fellow LGBT classmates Wednesday, donning rainbow attire and staging a counterprotest after men showed up at the school to protest homosexuality the day before. This happened just days after the on-campus murder suicide of two female classmates who were reportedly in a relationship.
May Kieu and Dorothy Dutiel, both 15-year-old sophomores, each died of a single gunshot wound about 8 a.m. Friday just outside the school's cafeteria, in what police believe was a murder-suicide.
Dorothy was the alleged shooter, according to Phoenix TV station KNXV, and the incident is thought to have been precipitated by a breakup, as indicated by her last tweets.
Dorothy reportedly obtained the weapon she used in the murder-suicide from a classmate. May's sister, a teacher at the school, denied the two girls were in a relationship and said they were just friends in an interview with KNXV.
On Tuesday, the first day back at school following the deaths, protesters showed up to speak out against homosexuality, carrying signs and using megaphones. They were recorded shouting "Homosexual relationships are hateful," "We know that these kids hate themselves," and "You're going to be suicidal, you're not going to know God," according to a clip on YouTube. Students at the school shouted back at them and the next day wore rainbow attire to show support for LGBT people.
Luis, an out freshman at Independence High, told Phoenix station KSAZ he was upset when he saw antigay protesters outside his school as students were still in mourning and decided to join other students in wearing rainbow colors to show support.
"Like, I got so mad, so I started screaming," he told the station. "God loves us, so he forgives us the way we are," Luis said.
Watch students combat antigay protesters.
