A VIGIL will be held in Carlisle tonight in memory of Brianna Ghey.
Members of the community will gather to pay their respects following the murder of the 16-year-old, who was found dead in a Cheshire park, at Carlisle's Market Cross Monument at 6pm (February 16).
Those attending the Carlisle vigil have been asked to bring candles as a mark of respect.
Organiser Asa Elijah Pegler said: "It’s important to host a vigil anywhere to show respect to a life lost from tragedy, just because Brianna Ghey’s death wasn’t local doesn’t mean it’s not important.
"Although it hasn’t been confirmed Brianna’s death was a hate crime as of yet, the death of a trans person is never the less tragic for the trans community, and putting all things LGBT+ related aside her family and friends are hurting more than we can imagine, we can only try to empathise and show our condolences to a life that was taken way too early.
"To have it in Carlisle is important in my opinion, many people around here are very unaware of trans people even existing or the struggles we face, to show up in big numbers to show respect for a girl losing her life not only shows we deeply care but also that we exist here in Cumbria and to the people attending who aren’t trans proves we have support and empathetic people in Cumbria that show solidarity for a trans person but also to a person whose life was lost too soon (regardless of gender identity).
"However, I am and have made it clear that this is not a political demonstration, as I think politicising someone’s death is not the path we should go down as of now.
"A vigil is the most appropriate thing for this horrific scenario and I am very strict on making it peaceful. No aggression will be tolerated," Asa said.
Two 15-year-olds have since been charged with the murder of the teenager.
Brianna, from Birchwood in Warrington, was found by members of the public as she lay wounded on a path in Culcheth Linear Park at around 3.13pm on Saturday.
Police have been exploring whether Brianna, who was a transgender girl, was the victim of a hate crime.
Subsequently, candlelit vigils have been held across the country, including at St George’s Hall in Liverpool and at College Green in Bristol.
READ MORE: Two 15-year-olds charged with murder of Brianna Gheyhe
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