Pulse nightclub shooting memorial set on fire by person in Florida
Authorities in Florida are investigating after an individual was caught on digicam setting a small fireplace to a number of banners at a memorial for the Pulse nightclub mass taking pictures victims.
The incident occurred final month in Orlando exterior Pulse nightclub, which for the reason that 2016 mass taking pictures on the LGBT venue has been remodeled right into a memorial for the 49 individuals who perished.
Footage posted on Facebook by the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit fashioned after the assault, exhibits an individual in a wheelchair rolling as much as a big memorial that wraps across the membership and lighting a part of it on fireplace, although injury was minimal and the blaze was contained to a number of memorial banners on the website.
The onePulse Basis mentioned the incident occurred someday round 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 12. The video shows the individual, who’s sporting a baseball hat, rolling as much as memorial — which options a big photograph wall with banners and names of the victims — and lighting a small fireplace earlier than leaving. The fireplace largely went out by itself however a passerby stomped out the remaining embers, the video exhibits.
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In the aftermath of the 2016 attack, the gay nightclub was transformed into a memorial and gathering point for the community, survivors and family of those killed. The memorial includes a wall of photos, banners and rainbow lights that wrap around the gray-concrete nightclub showing the 49 victims and other images from the community’s response to the attack. Those in the community often leave flowers, candles and balloons at the site.
Three banners were burned along with other items left at the memorial, but damage was minimal and the wall remained intact. No one has been arrested in the incident but the Orlando Fire Department is leading the investigation.
“Fire investigators are working the case,” said Jenny DeSantis, a spokeswoman for the department. “This is an open and active investigation.” DeSantis said no arrests have been made.
The attack on the club in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, was the nation’s deadliest mass shooting until a gunman killed 60 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas a year later.
More:Read about the 49 victims
Earlier this 12 months, President Joe Biden signed a law designating the nightclub as a nationwide memorial. The regulation was a part of an effort to construct a everlasting memorial on the website in honor of these killed by Omar Mateen, who was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle. Plans for the location embody a reflecting pool, an open-air museum and an training heart with gardens and a public plaza.
These with info on the hearth are requested to name the Orlando Police Division, which helps with the investigation, at 407-246-2470.