ORLANDO, Fla. — Friday at the site of the former Pulse nightclub was a time of tears and tributes on the tenth anniversary of the Pulse shootings. Jose Luis Morales went there to put out flowers and flags for each of the 49 Pulse Angels, and to remember a close friend on this difficult day.
Morales struggled to speak through the emotion, saying, “My heart is inside.”
Orlando Torres is a Pulse survivor. He was in the restroom on the fateful night when he and a friend heard gunshots. They spent more than an hour hiding in a bathroom stall, lying motionless when the shooter walked by and touched Torres’ pants to see if he was moving.
“From there my heart rate started going. I thought I was going to be riddled with bullets,” Torres said. “Thank God that I didn’t twitch or move, didn’t act nervous. I just let it happen, and he probably assumed I was dead and left me alone, and the rest of the night just waiting for SWAT to save us.”
Torres knew six of the Pulse angels personally. He says some of them were entertainers and that they were wonderful people. He says we should remember their lives and the legacies they left behind.
“If you didn’t meet them and you would have, you would have loved them because they’re full of happiness and love, and they just wanted to dance and not hurt nobody,” Torres said.
Many people visiting the Pulse site Friday said they hope the tragedy can unite the community.
A woman named Christina made the drive from South Florida to pay her respects.
“No matter our ideologies, no matter our beliefs, we’re still a community at the end of the day,” she said.
City leaders are working to build the Pulse Memorial where the nightclub stood and hope to have it completed by late 2027. Torres hopes the place where people went to dance will be a place to heal and to remain united.
“We’re all God’s children. We all hurt. We all bleed the same, and from here on, as we always say, keep dancing Orlando,” Torres said.