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Guests, Workers at Gay Resort Wary after Shooting

MIDDLE SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP — A gay resort in the Poconos is gearing up for the summer rush with more precaution after Sunday’s mass shooting in Orla...
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MIDDLE SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A gay resort in the Poconos is gearing up for the summer rush with more precaution after Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando.

Managers at Rainbow Mountain tell us they are always well staffed when it comes to security at the resort and plan to take any extra steps needed to keep guests safe.

While we were there, we ran into one guest who told us one of his friends was shot and killed in Orlando.

Cheyne Hauk is a guest at the Rainbow Mountain Resort in the Poconos and a writer for a gay travel magazine. He's been to Pulse in Orlando multiple times for stories.

Hauk lost a friend inside Pulse on Sunday after a gunman opened fire inside the nightclub.

"It's all a shock to me because it hits so close to home," said Hauk.

Hauk's friend Eddie Sotomayor was at Pulse with friends when the shooting took place. He later died at the hospital.

Hauk came to the resort in Middle Smithfield Township to try and wrap his head around what happened.

"It was really shocking to hear because I could have been there myself. It's all just really shocking. It's crazy, it's insane and I still don't even know how to feel about it, you know? And losing one of my friends, it's so, it's the first time for me that I have ever had anyone shot and killed before so, you don't know how to take it," Hauk said.

As this resort prepares for the summer rush, managers are taking some extra precautions.

"I think we are self-protecting and we are always alert and aware of things and it's all we can do at this point," said resort president Richard Spezzano.

Spezzano is devastated over the amount of lives taken in Orlando. As an owner of a gay resort, he isn't taking any chances when it comes to security.

"We are always alert, so that's all we can do. There is no guarantee and you can only do what you can do. We have to go on and continue living because if we don't continue living, then they win."

It will continue to be business as usual at Rainbow Mountain Resort with just that added precaution. The resort is looking forward to a successful summer.

As for Cheyne Hauk, he and some of his friends are planning on holding a vigil and collecting donations for Orlando victims once he gets back to New York.

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