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"We have that motto here that says, 'Keep dancing Orlando,' because if you don't, they win, the terrorists win." He has been able to go back to nightclubs and finds support from other survivors. Torres said that fear after the shooting didn't prevent him from living. Torres made it out through the breach after the gunman was killed. Torres was one of 49 people who dressed as angels to honor those killed in the attack. Orlando Torres at a Pulse nightclub remembrance ceremony one year after the attack that killed 49 people in Orlando, Fla. It took hours before police officers were able to break through a concrete wall in the building, leading to a shootout between officers and the gunman. He gets flashbacks to the black stalls that surrounded him that night, the gunshots, the screams and the hours he was held hostage as the gunman called authorities, making clear his allegiance was to the Islamic State terror group and threatening he had explosives. Orlando Torres still doesn't feel safe in a public restroom. And for some, the devastating anniversary converging with Pride Month serves as a mission and reminder of the need to continue pushing forward, not only for themselves but for the larger LGBTQ community. Others didn't have time to react.Īmid the trauma, years of recovery and new paths set by survivors and family members of those lost came a sense of community in Orlando that brought people together. Some tried to escape the packed dance floor as bullets poured from the gunman's rifle. Then came the pops that everyone thought was part of the music. Why Pride matters: We need to celebrate LGBTQ joy this Pride Month. Memorial: On fifth anniversary of Pulse shooting, they come to grieve, reflect and honor lives lost Survivors of the attack and those who lost loved ones at Pulse nightclub in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, are still grappling with the trauma of that night – an attack that targeted members of the LGBTQ community during a month dedicated to celebrating acceptance and gay Pride. In a country plagued by gun violence and an almost steady stream of mass shootings, the death toll in Orlando was shocking and thrust the city at the epicenter of conversations about gun control and terrorism. It was the nation's deadliest mass shooting, a uniquely shocking and undesirable mantle that Orlando held for only one year before an attack left 60 dead at a country music festival in Las Vegas. It has been five years since the country woke up to the news 49 people were gunned down in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida – an attack that ripped away the innocence of a community known for family vacations to Disney World and with it leaving the LGBTQ community on edge during a month of Pride celebrations.