Nearly 100 people gathered at Twisted Tuna in Port Salerno Monday for a candlelight vigil to reflect on the lives lost in the Orlando shooting at the Pulse night club.
Throughout the night, people told their stories about how they were impacted by the shooting.
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No one at the vigil lost a loved one in the shooting, but the impact was still felt in the area.
Lisa Hogan says she knew someone who was planning to be outside of Pulse Saturday night into Sunday morning. “I believe that she had some car trouble or some kind of mechanical problem and decided not to risk driving so far and risk getting stuck. So, we’re very grateful that happened,” Hogan said.
Donnette Melton knows someone who used to work at Pulse.
“I have one very good friend in Orlando… she was a Pulse bartender for about five years. She’s still a part of the Pulse family so it could have easily been year a couple years ago behind the bar,” Melton said.
Caryn Dionne has been to Pulse many times over the years, she says. As part of the LGBT community, she says she is still waiting to see a complete list of people injured at the night club to make sure all of her friends are okay.
“It’s terrifying that you have relatives out of the country contacting you, thinking you could have been there. It hurts. It’s my hometown. It’s where I feel safe and now I can't?” said Dionne.
Melton helped organize the vigil. She says he hopes the families of the victims feel support from the local community.
