As Orlando Funerals Wrap Up, Survivors Worry About Future
ORLANDO, Fla. — A week has passed since the Orlando nightclub shooting that killed 49 club patrons and the funeral processions are wrapping up, but survivors and victims’ families say they realize the nightmare will live on long after the world’s attention fades.
Jeannette McCoy made it out of the Pulse nightclub alive on June 12 as gunman Omar Mateen continued a shooting that also wounded and maimed 53 others before he died in a hail of police gunfire.
McCoy said the love and support can only do so much to help. It’s a temporary balm, she said, and she worried that while life may return to normal for some people after the world’s attention moves on, it won’t for Orlando’s LGBT community.
“All of this has been so traumatizing,” she said. “The way that our community has been impacted, it’s just so unfortunate. We have so many wonderful lives that have been lost. When we look at all these crosses, and all these faces, all these stories, it hurts. It hurts so much.”