Friday (June 12) marks the four-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, which killed 49 individuals when a gunman opened fire on the Orlando hotspot, and the lost lives are being honored with a ceremony.
As the city does every year, the community will come together to tribute the lives in what was the country's worst mass shooting at the time. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, families of the victims, survivors and first responders will be able to visit the site, while a virtual remembrance has been coordinated for others. "It's just hard. It’s hard to imagine that we can't just be physically together just to hold each other up," Barbara Poma, owner of the nightclub and an affiliate to the OnePulse Foundation, told WFTV. "We have thousands of people who come every year, and we wish we could have thousands of people together this year. But to make sure we take care of everyone. We have to do our part."
Previous ceremonies have featured the inclusion of a rainbow and Poma is hoping that they can keep that tradition alive. "Since we will not be there in person to experience the rainbow this year, we encourage everyone to be that rainbow," she said, suggesting users post photos of the ways that they remember the fallen. "We just think it's important to stand in solidarity that way."
The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. ET and will be live streamed via onePULSE Foundation's Facebook and YouTube accounts.
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