Five years after the devastating loss of 49 lives at the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando Florida we remember their names, their stories and the family and friends they left behind.
This week, the United States Senate unanimously passed a measure to make the site of the tragedy a national memorial. The US House has passed its own resolution and it now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The massacre occurred June 12, 2016 when Omar Mateen entered the gay nightclub on a busy night and opened fire on the crowd killing 49 and injuring many others. Many of the victims were Latinx.
Their names:
Stanley Almodovar III – Amanda L. Alvear – Oscar A. Aracena Montero, – Rodolfo Ayala Ayala – Antonio Davon Brown – Darryl Roman Burt II – Angel Candelario-Padro – Juan Chavez Martinez – Luis Daniel Conde – Cory James Connell – Tevin Eugene Crosby – Deonka Deidra Drayton – Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández – Leroy Valentin Fernandez – Mercedez Marisol Flores – Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz – Juan Ramon Guerrero – Paul Terrell Henry – Frank Hernandez – Miguel Angel Honorato – Javier Jorge Reyes – Jason Benjamin Josaphat – Eddie Jamoldroy Justice – Anthony Luis Laureano Disla – Christopher Andrew Leinonen – Alejandro Barrios Martinez – Brenda Marquez McCool – Gilberto R. Silva Menendez – Kimberly Jean Morris – Akyra Monet Murray – Luis Omar Ocasio Capo – Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez – Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera – Joel Rayon Paniagua – Jean Carlos Mendez Perez – Enrique L. Rios, Jr. – Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez – Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado – Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz – Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan – Edward Sotomayor Jr. – Shane Evan Tomlinson – Martin Benitez Torres – Jonathan A. Camuy Vega – Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez – Luis Sergio Vielma – Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez – Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon – and Jerald Arthur Wright.
Previous coverage here.