This Day in History

June 12, 2016: Pulse Nightclub Massacre

Time Periods: 2001–Present

Themes: LGBTQ

On Saturday, June 12, 2016, during a “Latin Night” at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida, a gunman shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more. The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was killed following a three-hour standoff with the police. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history (surpassed in 2017 by the Las Vegas shooting).

Memorials left on the fence of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Taken by Walter on August 1, 2016. Source: Public domain

As reported by Ariel Zambelich and Alyson Hurt for NPR’s The Two-Way,

Some wounded clubgoers played dead on the dance floor. Others barricaded themselves inside bathroom stalls and, not wanting to speak, texted loved ones for help. The gunman paced around the rear of the club, laughing and shooting at bodies already on the ground.

In August 2025, it was reported that the rainbow crosswalk honoring the victims of the Pulse shooting was painted over in what the mayor of Orlando called a “cruel political act.”

In the video below, Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman speaks with Brandon Wolf, one of the survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre.