In SWFL and Orlando, services mark 1 year since 49 killed at club

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Church bells will toll throughout the Orlando area as residents reflect on the 49 patrons killed during a massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history.

Starting in the early hours Monday, and continuing almost 24 hours later, survivors, victims’ families, city officials and central Florida residents will remember the victims with four services.

In Fort Myers, the names of the 49 who died were recited in a ceremony at Centennial Park organized by Pride SWFL, a nonprofit LGBT advocacy group.

The first Orlando-area service is closed to the public, and it’s being held at the nightclub for survivors, local officials and club employees. It will overlap with the exact time that gunman Omar Mateen began firing shots – a little after 2 a.m. on June 12, 2016.

It is followed by another midday service at the nightclub, and an evening gathering in the heart of downtown Orlando. A final, music-filled late-night service is being held at the nightclub.

“It’s all because of the need for us to get together and to remember each other and to lift each other up, so I think these events are extremely important for that connection that we all need,” Fort Myers ceremony attendee Jonathan Hollander said.

The Rev. Alison Farnum of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Myers, who was also at Sunday’s ceremony, said it was important to show the power of love against violence.

Mateen pledged allegiance to the Islamic State during the attack and was eventually killed by police during a shootout after a three-hour standoff. His wife, Noor Salman, is facing charges of aiding and abetting and obstruction in federal court, and she has pleaded not guilty to helping her husband.

On Monday, local churches throughout Orlando have arranged for church bells to ring simultaneously, 49 times at noon.

Passersby endured heavy rain Sunday as they laid roses and other mementos at the club. Rainbow gay-pride flags were up around the city.

Local officials also have declared the one-year mark as a day of “love and kindness,” and they are encouraging residents to volunteer or perform acts of compassion.

An exhibit of artwork collected from memorial sites set up around Orlando after the massacre will be shown at the Orange County History Center, and a giant rainbow flag will be unveiled at the Orange County government building.

Not all the survivors planned to attend the events, saying it would be too difficult.

“There’s going to be so many things going on that I feel it will be overwhelming for those affected,” said Ricardo Negron, who managed to escape the club without physical harm after the shooting started.

Demetrice Naulings said he would likely go to some of the commemorative events but he wasn’t looking forward to it. Naulings also escaped from the club but lost his best friend, who was fatally shot.

“Seeing all of the other people from the club, I’m pretty sure the hugs will be teary. I’m not looking forward to that,” Naulings said. “I’m not looking for ‘I’m sorry.’ I feel like that doesn’t help me. I feel like that is pity and I don’t want pity.”

Hollander said he became emotional as he heard the names of the victims called in Fort Myers.

“I’m hoping that we can all find peace and we all can learn to live with each other, our differences and celebrate the diversity,” Hollander said.