Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said Wednesday that he wants the city to create a permanent memorial at the Pulse nightclub to honor the victims of a mass shooting that took place there.
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Dyer also said he’d like to see the club remain unchanged for a time, possibly a year, so that people who want to visit Pulse can see the club as it now exists.
He added: “People are traveling from all over the country, really all over the world…”
On June 12, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old security guard, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a terrorist attack inside the gay nightclub. On Wednesday, Dyer visited the makeshift memorial with the prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel.
Barbara Poma, owner of Pulse, met recently with city officials to “explore options” in “very preliminary” talks, Pulse spokeswoman Sara Brady told the Orlando Sentinel.
The OnePulse Foundation, set up to support the families of the victims, confirmed to NBC that the club is closed for business and that the owners are interested in turning it into a memorial as well, but the owners did not directly comment on the mayor’s intentions. “It’s sacred ground to her”.
FOX 35 obtained paperwork last week that indicated that the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting could be turned into a permanent Orlando memorial.
“If the City and the property owners jointly agree it is in the best interest of the community that the City acquires the property, then the City will move forward with that public process to do so”, said Cassandra Anne Lafser, spokesperson for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.
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On Sunday, the nightclub posted an announcement on Instagram that said the club would reopen as a memorial, before releasing a correction indicating the post was premature.
