A planned memorial for the victims of the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando will not be built on the site where 49 people lost their lives.
NBC affiliate WESH-TV reports the onePULSE Foundation said the owners of the nightclub did not agree to donate the property, which had been in the works for nearly seven years since the shooting in June 2016.
"How low do you have to sink? People died here. Their children and their friends died here. They have every right to be honored the appropriate way," Orlando city commissioner Patty Sheehan said.
The owner of the nightclub, Barbara Poma, recently parted ways with the onePULSE Foundation after declining an offer from the city of $2.3 million for the site.
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"To hear today – seven years later – that they’ve bled this foundation dry and they’re not going to do the right thing – doesn’t just break my heart. It makes me angry," Sheehan said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said in a statement:
"I trust in the wisdom of the onePULSE Foundation to do what is best for the organization. I know the foundation will continue to work to uplift the community and support those directly affected by the tragedy."
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Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in part, "We will continue to support the dedicated work of the foundation to honor and preserve the legacy of those taken and their efforts to create a sanctuary of hope here in our community."
The foundation will provide an update in mid-May regarding its plans to move forward with a new site.
