TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday to commemorate eight years since the Pulse nightclub shooting. The governor said flags will be lowered for the day to pay respect to the victims, families and survivors.
In 2016, gunman Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at Pulse in Orlando. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. The number was surpassed the next year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured at a country music festival in Las Vegas.
Mateen was killed after a three-hour standoff with law enforcement.
Last year, a colorful 44-foot-long mural depicting the victims was unveiled at the Orlando Museum of Art to honor them. A church downtown also rang its church bells 49 times, which has become an annual tradition.
However, years later, survivors are still waiting for a permanent memorial at the nightclub's location. It was supposed to be created by the onePulse Foundation, which was a nonprofit directed by Barbara Poma who used to be one of the owners of the property. Poma stepped down as director and left the organization amid conflict-of-interest criticism over her stated desire to sell instead of donate the property.
The city of Orlando bought the property in 2023 for $2 million and has plans for the memorial.
In 2021, President Biden signed a law making the nightclub a national memorial on the fifth anniversary of the shooting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.