Pulse
Pulse is a gay nightclub located in Orlando Florida that has been one of the most popular gay nightclubs since its opening in 2004. The club contained three different party areas and hosted different themed nights every day of the week. It was known as a refugee for not only members of the LGBT community but also Puerto Ricans living in Orlando. The club was opened by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler in tribute to Poma's brother who died of AIDS several years before. Many declared that the club was a community hub for the LGBT community that promoted HIV prevention and immigrant rights.
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Pulse ShootingOn 12th June 2016, the Orlando night club was hosting a Latin themed party night that drew a large crowd including many Hispanics among the 320 patrons, however not all of the patrons were gay. At around 2am, Omar Mateen opened fire at the club using a semi automatic rifle and a shotgun. The police were alerted within 2 minutes of the initial shots being fired and an off duty police officer engaged in a gun battle with Mateen. However despite this, Mateen was able to enter further into the club and continue to shoot patrons. On the clubs Facebook page, a message was posted saying "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running" just nine minutes after the attack began. During the first 45 minutes of the attack, 100 Orlando police officers responded to the situation and were on scene, attempting to help the club goers escape and receive medical attention. It has been reported that during the attack, Mateen called both police and news stations declaring his allegiance to ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and many of the hostages in the club said that they heard him say that he "wouldn't stop his assault until America stopped blowing up his country". Police officers were stationed outside helping patrons escape through removed air conditioning units and a back patio section at the back of the club. At around 5am, the police breached the buildings wall by driving an armoured car into the side of the building. Mateen then engaged in a shootout with police where he was shot and killed. 50 people were killed during the attack including the gunman and 53 were injured. The attack was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in US history, the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in US history and the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil since the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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The Aftermath
In the wake of the attack, a regional blood bank urged people to donate blood to help the victims which resulted in thousands of people lining up for hours to donate blood. Equality Florida set up a GoFundMe page to aid the victims and their families in the wake of the tragedy. In the first nine hours, the page had raised over $750,000 and to this date has raised $7.29 million from over 100,000 donors, meaning that the average donation was around $60 per donor. The mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, set up another fundraising campaign called OneOrlando that has so far raised $20million in donations including $1million donated each by Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World Resort respectively. The money raised from these campaigns will be distributed evenly beginning with the 49 victims families and the 50 people who were injured resulting in time spent in hospital. The LGBT community across America has expressed concern over their safety after the attack while police forces have vowed to provide more security for the LGBT community during events such as Pride Month celebrations and at landmarks like the Stonewall Inn. Candle lit vigils were held across the world with thousands in attendance at each vigil and many buildings across the world were lit with the rainbow colours associated with the LGBT community including the Eiffel Tower, One World Trade Centre, The SkyTower and many US embassies all over the world.
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