Local
Gay engineer’s death ruled a homicide
Cause of death was ‘impact head trauma’
The D.C. Medical Examiner disclosed on Tuesday that gay engineer Gaurav Gopalan, who was found dead Sept. 10 on a sidewalk in Columbia Heights at 5:20 a.m., died of blunt force trauma to the head and that the death has been ruled a homicide.
News that Gopalan’s death was due to an act of violence came after D.C. police initially announced there were no obvious signs of injuries on Gopalan’s body and that a final determination on the death would have to wait for results of toxicological tests.
Gopalan, a native of India, was found dead on the 2600 block of 11th Street, N.W. in a location less than two blocks from where he lived. He was dressed in women’s clothes with some facial makeup, prompting police to initially describe him as a transgender woman.
With no identification on him, it took police three days to track down his identity following the release of a post mortem photo taken by the Medical Examiner’s office.
It could not be immediately determined why the Medical Examiner’s office didn’t disclose last week its findings released today that Gopalan suffered a “subarachnoid hemorrhage,” or internal head bleeding, due to “blunt impact head trauma.”
Beverly Fields, a spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s Office, said the latest findings were based on the autopsy conducted last week.
Bob Shaeffer, Gopalan’s partner, told the Blade Monday that he didn’t know where Gopalan had been on the night before his death but said police told him they obtained video footage of Gopalan near the corner of Florida Avenue and U Street, N.W. The gay nightclub Town and the gay sports bar Nellie’s are located in that area.
Police last week said they had contacted the management of several gay clubs in the city to ask whether Gopalan had been seen in the clubs in the hours prior to his death. At a news conference last week, Homicide Branch Capt. Michael Farish said representatives of the clubs weren’t certain whether Gopalan had visited the clubs.
Gopalan received a doctorate degree in aeronautical engineering at the University of Maryland and later worked with the university on research projects related to sound suppression of helicopter rotor blades, a technology deemed important for U.S. military applications.
Officials with the University of Maryland’s school of engineering and D.C.’s South Asian LGBT group Khush D.C., to which Gopalan had ties, this week continued to mourn Gopalan’s death.
He also served as president of the Fred Schmitz Group, an aeronautical engineering consulting firm, which he operated out of the home that he and Shaeffer shared in Columbia Heights.
Rehan Rizvi, a member of Khush D.C., said Gopalan attended a number of the group’s events during the past few years.
Rizvi said Khush D.C. planned to coordinate a possible memorial service for Gopalan with the University of Maryland’s engineering school, which was expected to host a memorial at the campus.
People who knew Gopalan said he also served as an assistant director and stage manager for Shakespeare plays produced by a the WSC Avant Bard theater group formerly known as the Washington Shakespeare Company.
The ruling of his death as a homicide is certain to further alarm LGBT activists. Gopalan’s death followed shootings and an attempted shooting of at least five transgender women since July. One of the women, Lashai Mclean, 23, was shot to death on July 20th on the 6100 block of Dix Street, N.E.
Police have said they have no evidence so far to indicate any of the incidents are linked to the same perpetrator.
Gay D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who represents the area where Gopalan lived and died, said he is closely monitoring the police investigation.
“Now our determination must be to get the killer because somebody killed this fine young man who had such a great life and was loved by so many people,” he said. “We have got to get this killer”
Delaware
Historic New Castle to host Pride Market this weekend
Delaware town offers event with more than 55 vendors
The town of New Castle, Del., will host a Pride Market on Sunday, the first day of Pride month.
The event is hosted by the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective and features more than 55 LGBTQ-aligned businesses and resources, including Planned Parenthood of Delaware, the ACLU of Delaware, Orgullo Delaware, and New Castle Public Library. The event runs from 12-5 p.m. at 3rd Street and Delaware Street on The Green, an open space and market square.
The inaugural Pride Market in November 2024 was the first market in the town’s history dedicated to the LGBTQ community. The Pride Market is “designed to be an affirming space for LGBTQ businesses and individuals to join together as a community,” according to the Facebook page.
New Castle was founded in the 1650s by Dutch settlers with weekly markets on The Green beginning in 1655. The area features historically significant buildings like the 1732 Court House, the 1799 New Castle Academy, and an 1809 U.S. arsenal. Delaware Pride is scheduled for June 7 in Dover.
Maryland
Annapolis Pride postponed due to weather
Parade and festival will not happen as scheduled, other events to take place
The annual celebration of the Annapolis LGBTQ community has been put on hold due to forecasted severe weather.
The Annapolis Pride parade and festival, both of which were supposed to take place on May 31, have been postponed until a later date.
Annapolis Pride Board Chair Joe Toolan announced the decision this afternoon, citing information given to the Pride board from emergency management agencies and weather forecasting models.
“The safety of our community comes first,” Toolan said. “Based on guidance from the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the 2025 Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival due to the very real threat of severe thunderstorms, lightning, and flooding.
“We are hoping to reschedule for some time this fall,” he added.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado and flood watches for large portions of the Mid-Atlantic area, more specifically in areas of Virginia, D.C., and Maryland — including Anne Arundel County where Annapolis is located.
The tornado watch only lasts until midnight, but the impacts of heavy downpours in the area can already be seen where the parade and festival were set to take place. The festival grounds at Bates Middle School are already experiencing flooding and over-saturation, and a flood watch remains in effect with more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
“We are all sad and terribly disappointed that we cannot proceed with the parade and festival on Saturday,” Toolan said. “Hundreds of hours have been spent on planning and coordination, and we were expecting tens of thousands of attendees. But at the end of the day, safety concerns outweigh all other concerns.”
Toolan said the Pride board will announce a rescheduled date as soon as it is confirmed.
Even though the Annapolis Pride parade and festival have been postponed, there are a slew of other planned Pride events that will go on as scheduled:
May 30 – Ladies Night – SOLD OUT
6–10 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis
June 1 – Drag Brunch at Leo – SOLD OUT
10 a.m., Leo Annapolis Restaurant, 212 West St.
June 1 – Ecumenical Pride Worship Service
3 p.m., Eastport United Methodist Church, Annapolis
June 3 – Annapolis Pride Beer Launch
4–7 p.m., Forward Brewing, Annapolis
June 5 – Pride on the Pier
6–9 p.m., Bread and Butter Kitchen, Annapolis
June 6 – Big Gay Dance Party
10 p.m.–close, Tsunami Restaurant, 51 West St., Annapolis
June 7 – Pop-Up Market: Benefiting Annapolis Pride
10 a.m.–3 p.m., Annapolis Town Center
Special discounts @Kendra Scott 6/7–6/8
June 14 – Silent Disco
7–11 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis
June 21 – Teen Dance Party
6–9 p.m., Art Farm, Annapolis
For high school freshmen – juniors
*ticketed event
For more information on the postponement of Annapolis Pride, visit https://annapolispride.org/
District of Columbia
Bowser raises Pride flag over Wilson Building
Council members joined mayor to welcome WorldPride to D.C.
Close to 200 people turned out on Thursday, May 29, to watch D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, joined by members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Capital Pride Alliance, raise a large Pride flag on a tall flagpole in front of the John Wilson D.C. City Hall building.
The mayor, who joined others in speaking from a podium on the front steps of the Wilson Building, called the event the city’s official welcoming ceremony for hosting WordPride 2025 DC in the nation’s capital.
World Pride events, which began May 17, continue through June 8.
“Happy WorldPride in the gayest city in America,” Bowser told the crowd to loud cheers and applause.
Joining Bowser were five members of the D.C. Council, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), who was among the Council members who also spoke at the event.
Also speaking were Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, the local LGBTQ group serving as lead organizer of WorldPride 2025, and Capital Pride Alliance Deputy Director June Crenshaw.
“This flag tells a story of love without apology,” Crenshaw said in her remarks at the podium. “Our community has never backed down, and we will not at this time of challenge,” she said.
Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, told the gathering that the city and especially Bowser and all city officials were proud to host WorldPride at the time of the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations in D.C.
Among those attending the event and sitting in a front row seat was longtime D.C. gay activist Deacon Maccubbin, who organized the city’s first Gay Pride Day celebration in 1975. He was joined by his husband, Jim Bennett.
During the ceremony Bowser also presented Capital Pride Alliance officials with a mayoral proclamation proclaiming Thursday, May 29, 2025, as “A Day of Remembrance For Bernie Delia in Washington, D.C.” Delia, a longtime Capital Pride Alliance official and one of the lead organizers of WorldPride 2025, died unexpectedly of natural causes June 21, 2024
The other Council members participating in the event in addition to Parker were Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), Matthew Ruman (D-Ward 3), and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6)
The Council members, Capital Pride officials, and LGBTQ community members stood next to Bowser as she raised the large Pride flag on a pole located to the right of the front steps and main entrance of the Wilson Building.
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