TAMPA, Fla. — Eight years after the deadly mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, survivors and advocates are remembering those who were lost.
The nightmare still plays in Amanda Grau’s mind every day.
“At first, I thought it was firecrackers because of the song that was playing that night,” said Grau. “Then that’s when I had initially turned around, saw the shooter, and immediately threw down my drinks.”
Grau survived the Pulse nightclub shooting.
“I initially got the first shot underneath my arm, and I went down. I lost consciousness for a moment, and when I came to, that’s when I noticed everyone was screaming,” said Grau.
Grau was shot four times and held hostage in the bathroom for over three hours.
She shared with ABC Action News video of her recovery, learning to walk again.
“I do get nightmares still,” she said. “Especially when it gets closer to Pulse.”
“I hid in the bathroom,” said Orlando Torres, who also survived the shooting.
Torres said he was given a second chance to help be the voice of those who lost their lives. He can still recall the gunfire he heard that day.
“I’m hearing the loud gunshots in our restroom,” said Torres. “He shot at the stall behind us.”
June 12 marks 8 years since the tragedy, where a gunman opened fire in 2016, killing 49 and wounding dozens more.
“We learned lessons about how love trumps hate. We learned lessons about the need to accept and include LGBTQ people,” said Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Senior Policy Advisor for Equality Florida and a former lawmaker.
Smith said it’s important not only that we remember the 49 people who lost their lives, but also the commitment to honor them with action and to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.
“We need to make sure that the Florida legislature is taking action to prevent gun violence,” said Smith. “It’s not just on restricting access to military-style assault weapons like what was used at Pulse nightclub and in Parkland, but also on some of the basic gun violence prevention tools like universal criminal background checks.”
While the pain is fresh, those who were there take it one day at a time. Grau was accepted to paramedic school, starting in August at St. Pete College.
Still with the reminder 8 years later to never forget the victims.
“I always say, we’re all God’s children. We all hurt, we all bleed the same,” said Torres. “Nobody should take action or threaten or take innocent lives because of their sexual orientation or their religion or whatever it is that they don’t agree upon.”
“I know this world can be very cruel and just remember to try to love one another and to be kind to one another,” said Grau.
