Forty-nine people died in the tragic Orlando nightclub shooting two weeks ago. That’s forty-nine people with forty-nine different lives, which reached out in every direction, including into the nerdverse. One of those taken too soon was 22 year-old Luis Vielma, an employee at the Orlando-based Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, specifically the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.
Upon learning of the loss of a part of her very extended “family,” none other than J.K. Rowling tweeted out a message of mourning:
Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can’t stop crying. #Orlando pic.twitter.com/Nz2ZCWxNsS
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 13, 2016
Days after his death, his coworkers and guests gathered for a vigil in his memory, during which they held up their light-up Potter magic wands.
You can watch the video of that below:
And finally, a fellow Potter fan Brandon Anderson created a Funko Pop! Vinyl figurine of Vielma, decked out in Gryffindor uniform complete with magic wand. Anderson created the figurine himself, using a D.I.Y. (blank) Funko base body. He even went so far as to customize the box, emulating the style of commercially available Pop! Vinyls.
You can check out the one-of-a-kind figuring below:
The figure isn’t for sale, as Anderson is attempting to contact Vielma’s family to give it to them.
When asked for comment, Funko replied:
“Our thoughts are with Luis, his family, and everyone touched by the tragedy in Orlando.”
Wouldn’t it be cool if Funko actually released a run of these with benefits going to benefit the families and loved ones of the shooting victims?
Sources: NewNowNext, The Huffington Post
