Mexican official fired over ‘homophobic’ Orlando comment

Jose de Jesus Manzo Corona, a coordinator at the development and social integration agency of western Jalisco state, was sacked at the request of Governor Aristoteles Sandoval, the government said in a statement.

A Mexican state government official was fired from his job on Monday after he posted a homophobic comment on social media about the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 13: People attend an evening memorial service for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shootings, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, June 13, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (AFP)

Jose de Jesus Manzo Corona, a coordinator at the development and social integration agency of western Jalisco state, was sacked at the request of Governor Aristoteles Sandoval, the government said in a statement.

The statement said Manzo “made homophobic posts on social media” related to the carnage at the Pulse club in the Florida city, where 49 people were slaughtered by American gunman Omar Mateen, who was killed by police.

The government did not disclose the offensive post, but newspapers said the official’s Facebook page had a message saying “too bad it was 50 and not 100.”

Sandoval wrote on Twitter that he had asked for the official to be fired and that “discriminatory expressions will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Three of the 49 victims were Mexican nationals and another was among the 53 people wounded in the worst mass shooting in US history.