ORLANDO, Fla. — Several events Monday marked seventh year since the Pulse Nightclub shooting. On June 12, 2016, 49 people lost their lives after a gunman opened fire at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub.
What You Need To Know
- A remembrance ceremony to honor Pulse shooting victims was at the Dr. Phillips Center on Monda
- This was the first time in several years the ceremony was not held at the Pulse property
- The onePULSE Foundation recently announced the nightclub site would not be donated for a permanent memorial structure
- Several other events and memorial showcases preceded the ceremony at the Dr. Phillips Center
The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts hosted a seven-year remembrance ceremony in Steinmetz Hall. A live-stream of the full event is available here.
The ceremony was not held at the Pulse property for the first time in several years, which the onePULSE Foundation recently announced would not be donated for a permanent memorial structure.
Preceding the ceremony, there was an annual 49 Bells Ceremony at the Sanctuary at First United Methodist Church, in honor of the 49 people who were killed.
"Seven years later I can't say that you ever get over it. You learn to live with it," said Andrea Drayton, one of the mother's who lost a child that day.
Drayton’s daughter is Deonka Deidra Drayton, but people close to her called her Deedee.
"She was vibrant, very live, whenever she went into a room she lit up the whole room," said Drayton. "She was very compassionate, affectionate, she loves people. Anything she could do to help people she did."
Andrea travels to Orlando from Columbia, South Carolina for every Pulse Remembrance Day.
“For me, because the incident happened in Orlando the unity the love is overflowing," she said. "When you come from a different state it’s hard for people to understand and comprehend because they did not witness it."
She’s grateful to be in a supportive environment. Even taking the stage, keeping Deedee’s legacy alive.
“The thing is, we don’t plant the seed in us called strength nor do we choose what warrants it," said Drayton. "But for certain we are all stronger than know.”
Today marks 7 years since the Pulse Nightclub shooting. The Dr. Phillips Center is dawning rainbow lights ahead of todays remembrance ceremony, where a crescent moon hangs center overhead. Thinking about the 49 victims this morning on @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/jzxwPyrqSn
— Celeste Springer (@CelesteSpringer) June 12, 2023
At the Orlando Museum of Art, a memorial mural by artists Michael Pilato, Yuriy Karabash and Chimene Hurst is available to view until June 16.
On that night in 2016, Omar Mateen fatally shot 49 people and wounded 58 others in what the FBI called a terrorist attack before he was fatally shot by law enforcement.