On the 2nd anniversary of the #Pulse nightclub shooting, we remember the stories of the 49 people who lost their lives that night thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Brenda McCool, 49, raised 12 children and beat cancer twice. She was dancing at Pulse with her son, who is gay, when the gunshots began. McCool died, her son survived thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32, was with his boyfriend, Juan Guerrero, 22, who was also killed thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Frank Hernandez, 27, had a younger sister. When Julissa Leal got a frantic phone call from Hernandez’s boyfriend on Sunday morning saying he’d been shot, Leal drove 12 hours from Louisiana to Florida to see her older brother. It was too late thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Akya Murray, 18, is the youngest confirmed victim in the attack. She was a standout basketball player at Philadelphia's West Catholic Prepatory High Schoo and earned a full ride at a Pennsylvania university she was to attend thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35, met his long-time partner Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37, at Perfumania where he worked. They were both murdered thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Luis S. Vielma, 22, had visited Disney World hours before the shooting and posted a photo there with several people. “True friends who become family,” the caption read thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Stanley Manolo Almodovar III, 23, was originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, and worked as a pharmacy technician. His mother described him as a happy man with a big heart thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34, was the national brand manager for Al and Chuck Travel, and known to friends as “very outgoing, very friendly.” One friend described him as “one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met thebea.st/2sPbPP0
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20, was a dancer. A former teacher remembered him as “a ray of sunshine every day.” bit.ly/2HHawWT
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36, was originally from Puerto Rico. His former roommate described him as “always willing to help everybody,” “always generous,” and someone who “sacrificed himself a lot for his family.” bit.ly/2HHawWT
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25, was studying health-care management at a local university bit.ly/2HHawWT
Kimberly Morris, 37, a bouncer at Pulse, had moved to Orlando from Connecticut. A former college classmate wrote in remembrance on Facebook, “KJ Morris you always lit up the room with your smile.” bit.ly/2HHawWT
Amanda Alvear, 25, was a nursing student at the University of South Florida. Alvear was at Pulse with her best friend, Mercedez Flores, 26, who was remembered by friends on social media as an “amazing woman." bit.ly/2HHawWT
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25, went by Alanis Laurell on the drag scene. "Alanis Laurell was a amazing performer and a beautiful person inside and out" bit.ly/2HHawWT
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32, worked at Pulse, and is survived by a three-year-old she was helping raise bit.ly/2HHawWT
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50, traveled the world as a professional Jîbaro dancer bit.ly/2HHawWT
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35, had a son and worked at Disney Live! His little boy had just graduated from pre-kindergarten the same month bit.ly/2HHawWT
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37, was the owner of D’Magazine Salon and Spa. He was at Pulse with his partner of 13 years, 39-year-old Luis Conde bit.ly/2HHawWT
Luis Daniel Conde, 39. Killed alongside his longtime partner, Juan P. Rivera Velazquez bit.ly/2HHawWT
Oscar Aracena-Montero, 26, was with Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 bit.ly/2HHawWT
Martin Benitez Torres, 33, was a student in San Juan. He loved to share videos with his family on Facebook and was known for his beautiful smile bit.ly/2HHawWT
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33, was the manager and lead vocalist at Frequency Band bit.ly/2HHawWT
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25, was from Statesville, North Carolina, and studied business administration at Strayer University South bit.ly/2HHawWT
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30, was known as “the life of the party,” and a “momma’s boy at heart.” bit.ly/2HHawWT
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29, was a financial aid officer at a local college who worked with military service members bit.ly/2HHawWT
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25, was a leasing agent in Orlando who loved to dance, sing, and dress as Beyonce or Jennifer Lopez for crowds bit.ly/2HHawWT
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30, was married, a hardworking father of three children. He and his family own four restaurants in the Orlando area bit.ly/2HHawWT
Jonathan Camuy, 24, was an assistant producer for Telemundo in Orlando, along with fellow NBCUniversal employee, Luis Vielma bit.ly/2HHawWT
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25, was working as a social worker for the elderly in east Brooklyn bit.ly/2HHawWT
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40, was a supervisor at Gucci and studied tourism at Academia San Antonio de Guayama in Puerto Rico bit.ly/2HHawWT
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19, was known as quiet and helpful, and “high on life.” bit.ly/2HHawWT
Cory James Connell, 21, was a student at Valencia college studying sports journalism and broadcasting. His brother described Cory as being the family “super hero" bit.ly/2HHawWT
Antonio Davon Brown, 29, was a former student at Florida A&M University. Brown had been a criminal justice major and a member of ROTC bit.ly/2HHawWT
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25, worked at Reunion Resorts where employees including a housekeeper said he was “very kind and loving" bit.ly/2HHawWT
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31, was a seasonal employee who worked at Walt Disney World. Co-workers described him as "one of the kindest people you could meet" bit.ly/2HHawWT
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27, was a great person inside and out," according to friends. "Just like a big teddy bear." bit.ly/2HHawWT
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28, was a ophthalmic technician and studied in Puerto Rico bit.ly/2HHawWT
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33, worked at a blood donation center and earned enough to buy a home a year before the shooting bit.ly/2HHawWT
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32, was loyal. "He was always trying to do stuff to make you feel better," a friend who met him at church said bit.ly/2HHawWT
Paul Terrell Henry, 41. A Chicago native and father of two—his daughter had just graduated high school bit.ly/2HHawWT
Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24, is survived by her husband, Pito, and her two babies bit.ly/2HHawWT
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21. "He was a very special boy, like a brother to me," one friend wrote bit.ly/2HHawWT
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24, worked at JP Morgan Chase in Tampa. "He was so strong, and was my rock through everything we ever went through," his brother Junior posted on Facebook bit.ly/2HHawWT
Geraldo Ortiz-Jimenez, 25, was in town from Puerto Rico or a Selena Gomez concert in Orlando thebea.st/2l4OWCz
