Opening night of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood April 5, 2016; Kevork Djansezian/Universal Studios/NBC via Getty Images(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Friends and co-workers of Luis S. Vielma, a Harry Potter World employee at Universal Studios theme park who was killed in Sunday night’s nightclub massacre in Orlando, was memorialized in a very Harry Potter way Monday night.
Friends and co-workers gathered to raise candles and magic wands in remembrance of the 22-year-old, who worked at the park’s “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” attraction.
“We are standing here tonight in front of Hogwarts castle, raising our wands to one of our fallen,” a young woman said aloud in a video of the memorial.
“Tonight we raise our wands to one of the bravest and best Gryffindors the world has ever known…He was kind, and he was brave, and he was one of the kindest souls you will ever meet in your life,” says the woman. “Every single member of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, every single person he touched, every guest he came across, he created a type of magic for them that can never be compared to anything else in this world.”
On Monday, Harry Potter creator, author J.K. Rowling, tweeted her condolences about Vielma’s death, noting, “I can’t stop crying…” Bill Davis, president and COO of Universal Orlando Resort, offered his condolences as well, tweeting in part, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Luis, his family, and all the victims of this tragedy.”
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