On anniversary, Orlando remembers the Pulse nightclub massacre
For the first time since the massacre last June, when Orlando’s Pulse nightclub went from patrons’ safe haven to nightmare in a matter of seconds, owner Barbara Poma turned on the building’s outside lights Sunday — reminding mourners in Florida what it looked like before everything closed down.
Hues of pink and purple splashed across the bar’s black exterior and bluegreen spotlights illuminated palm trees. The club’s logo — a large “P” — was projected on the wall.
At 2:02 a.m., survivors, victims’ families, club employees and local officials were gathered for a private service at the gay club at the exact time Omar Mateen opened fire a year ago and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. He was eventually killed by police after a three-hour standoff on June 12, 2016.
“I realize that gathering here in this place, at this hour, is beyond difficult,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said Monday. “But I also know that the strength you’ve shown over the past year will carry you through today and in the future.”
Also on Monday, church bells tolled 49 times, a giant rainbow flag hung from a county government building and the names of the victims of the Pulse attack were read aloud at various ceremonies in Orlando and beyond.
It had been a year since the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history stole 49 lives there and scarred countless others; a year since terror fundamentally changed Pulse, a safe space for Orlando’s gay community.
Overnight, those directly touched by the June 12, 2016, tragedy — survivors and family of victims — gathered in the parking lot outside the club for a private memorial service. They weren’t allowed inside the building, which has been boarded up for months, but just being near the place was emotional enough.
“It’s totally different now. It’s like all the terrifying and awful memories I had have been replaced with tonight, with this unity and all this love,” Ramses Tinoco, who survived the massacre, told the Orlando Sentinel. “We’re all still grieving but this gave me some closure. I could smile and remember the 49.”
During a midday service, the Orlando Gay Chorus performed Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and speakers talked less about the tragedy and more about how Orlando area residents came together in the aftermath.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said the city will only partly be remembered for the shooting.