Pulse nightclub victims remembered on 7th anniversary of massacre

ORLANDO, Fla. — Across central Florida, the 49 victims killed and dozens more survivors of the massacre at a gay-friendly nightclub were remembered with the unveiling of a 44-foot -wide mural, the ringing of church bells and an overnight vigil at the site of the Pulse club on Monday, the seventh anniversary of the tragedy.

Several people gathered at the site of the Pulse nightclub near downtown Orlando at 2 a.m. Monday, around the time that the gunman opened fire in 2016, leaving 49 people dead and 53 wounded. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, but that number was surpassed the next year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

The gunman was killed after a three-hour standoff by SWAT team members. He had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.