The attack by a gunman at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando over two months ago has gone down in history as the deadliest mass public shooting America has ever seen. But what will happen to the site of the shooting in the future? The events of the past few days reveal that a permanent memorial may be a possibility.
In an interview with WMFE on August 2, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said that he would like for the city of Orlando to purchase the nightclub. He would leave the site as is and turn it into a permanent memorial.
Mourners who wish to pay their respects are already flocking to the temporary memorial set up after the shooting. Well-wishers travel to Orlando from all over the world leaving flowers and signs.
Whatever form it takes, there will most likely be some sort of memorial. It is still unclear if Pulse will ever be a nightclub again. Soon after the attack, owner Barbara Poma was quoted as saying that she would reopen the nightclub.
More recently she has said that she will either reopen the club with a memorial, or have a memorial at the original site and move the club to a new location.
On July 31, the new non-profit OnePulse Foundation posted on their Instagram that the Pulse nightclub would reopen as a memorial in the near future. They then edited this post to reflect that they are raising money for a memorial, but that it is not yet a certainty. A spokeswoman for Barbara Poma told the Orlando Sentinel that the post was a:
“…Misunderstanding on part of (the) social media crew.”
As of August 3, Poma has begun talks with city officials about the city buying the club. These talks are still in the very early stages. Plans for a memorial are not yet set in stone.
Watch as WESH 2 News discusses new documents regarding the issue of a memorial being a real possibility.
