ORLANDO, Fla. — The names of the 49 people killed during the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub were read one-by-one Saturday at a ceremony in Orlando.
A bell toll separated each name read aloud by some of the family members of those killed at a ceremony the First United Methodist Church of Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel said.
Other churches and businesses were able to join in unison virtually as part of the 49 Bells movement hosted by the OneOrlando Alliance, WKMG said.
It’s been 5 years since 49 people were shot and killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. 53 other people were hurt before police were able to kill the shooter.
Pulse, a gay nightclub, was hosting a Latin night on June 12, 2016. Many of those killed or injured were Latino. It also happened in the middle of PRIDE month, a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The shooting is considered the deadliest attack on LGBTQIA+ people in U.S. history. It was also the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history until the Las Vegas shooting in 2017.
The names of the 49 people killed are:
Stanley Almodovar III
Amanda Lizzette Alvear
Oscar A. Aracena Montero
Rodolfo Ayala Ayala
Antonio "Tony" Brown
Darryl Roman Burt II
Angel Candelario-Padro
Juan Chavez Martinez
Luis D. Conde
Cory James Connell
Tevin Eugene Crosby
Deonka "Dee Dee" 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 Jamal Droy 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
Gerardo A. Ortiz Jimenez
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera
Joel Rayon Paniagua
Jean C. Mendez Perez
Enrique L. Rios Jr.
Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz
Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan
Eddie 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
Jerry Wright
On Saturday, President Joe Biden said he would sign a bill to designate the former Pulse nightclub as a national memorial.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared June 12, 2021, as Pulse Remembrance Day in the state.
RELATED: 'I wanted to pay it forward': Pulse tragedy pushes survivor to pursue her passion as an EMT
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