Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all flags at half-staff to honor victims of the Pulse shooting in 2016. The order from the Governor came on the seventh anniversary of the attack.
A memo from the Governor’s Office detailed the historic proportion of the mass shooting. The memo was initially issued on June 9, and the Governor’s Office also distributed it again over social media channels the actual day of the shooting’s anniversary.
“Seven years ago, on June 12, 2016, a shooter claiming alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant committed a horrific act of terrorism against the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida,” DeSantis wrote. “At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.”
The evening of June 12, 2016, Port St. Lucie man Omar Mateen entered the Orlando gay nightclub on Latin night. He fired at least 186 shots from a Sig Sauer purchased days before, and 22 shots from a 9mm handgun.
Mateen killed 49 people in the club, and died after police shot him seven times after an hourslong standoff.
DeSantis’ memo stressed Mateen’s claimed ties to ISIS. While on the phone with police negotiators, the shooter swore his allegiance to the terrorist organization. ISIS leaders shortly after the attack issued releases taking credit for the shooting as well, calling victims “filthy Crusaders.”
The Governor’s office stressed the human toll of the attack.
“Forty-nine people were killed and fifty-three were wounded,” DeSantis’ memo states. “As a mark of respect for the victims, their families and the many affected by this tragedy, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations and grounds throughout the State of Florida from sunrise to sunset on Monday, June 12, 2023.”
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