A memorial for the victims of the 2016 mass shooting inside Pulse nightclub was set on fire in a horrific act that was caught on camera.
The onePULSE Foundation released the video to Facebook (November 6), captioned: “On October 12 around 8:30 p.m. EST, an individual damaged our offering wall. Three Angel banners were burned along with other items within the affected area.”
The 18 minute-long video, posted with the hashtag #WeWillNotLetHateWin, shows a person who appears to be in a wheelchair setting fire to part of the memorial (from about 2.30 in):
Eventually the blaze dies down on its own, and a passerby stomps it out after noticing the embers.
Authorities in Florida are investigating
Gunman Omar Mateen opened fire at Pulse, an LGBT+ nightclub in Orlando, on June 12, 2016.
People inside the venue called and messaged loved ones as Mateen opened fire in the building and the venue’s Facebook page posted telling people to “get out” and “keep running”.
49 people were murdered and 53 wounded in the shooting, a targeted attack on the LGBT+ community, and the deadliest terrorist attack in the US since the 11 September attacks.
Mateen was later killed in a shootout with law enforcement.
It remains the deadliest incident in the history of violence against LGBT people in the United States and, at the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
The foundation is asking anyone with information on the individual who set the fire to report it to police at at 407-246-2470.
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 #WeWillNotLetHateWin pic.twitter.com/hZ99Zv7qHM
— onePULSE Foundation (@onePULSEorg) October 25, 2021