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City of Orlando buys Pulse nightclub to create a memorial to shooting victims

By | Published on Thursday 10 November 2016

Pulse Orlando

The city of Orlando has reached a deal to buy the Pulse nightclub where a gunman killed 49 people and wounded dozens more in June this year. The plan is to transform the site into a memorial for those who died and were injured during the shooting.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the city plans to pay the club’s current owners $2.25 million in order to take control of the property. Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer says that once the city owns the venue it will be able to make what has already become an unofficial memorial safer, reducing the impact on neighbouring businesses, while considering plans for a more formal permanent memorial on the site.

The city official is in no rush to alter the property just yet though, beyond improving safety and security, saying: “There are lots of people that are making a visit to the site part of their trip [here], part of their experience of Orlando, so I think twelve to eighteen months of leaving it as-is would be appropriate”.

The club venue, which was part of the Florida city’s LGBT scene, has remained empty since the 12 Jun attack. Some of those visiting the site to pay their respects have left behind photos and notes, many of which have since been collected by the Orange County Regional History Center and which, therefore, could form part of any permanent memorial.



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