The nightclub is being replaced with a permanent memorial to one of the US’s worst mass shootings in modern history.Survivors and family members of the 49 victims killed at an LGBTQ+ friendly nightclub in the United States have gotten their first chance to walk through it before it is demolished and replaced with a permanent memorial to what at the time was considered the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
In small groups over four days starting Wednesday, survivors and family members of those killed plan to spend half an hour at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, where Omar Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to ISIL (ISIS), was killed after a three-hour standoff with police.
The Pulse shooting‘s death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas.
The city of Orlando purchased the Pulse property in 2023 for $2m and plans to build a $12m permanent memorial that will open in 2027. These efforts follow a fumbled attempt to create a memorial over many years by a private …
