ORLANDO, Fla. – The city of Orlando said Monday that vandals had targeted the Pulse massacre site.
Pictures showed graffiti-type defacement on the Pulse sign, near messages written by supporters of the victims.
“It is appalling that anyone would deface the Pulse site as it’s a sacred and meaningful place in our community. The city of Orlando is committed to protecting and securing the Pulse site as it remains a place for many to pay their respects and honor the 49 angels. City staff documented the incident and provided information to the Orlando Police Department. This morning city staff began the process of addressing and removed the defacement this afternoon,” the city said in a statement.
A Pulse survivor group expressed outrage regarding the lack of security at the site.
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“Since the city has taken over the site, we had expected security to improve, but they have failed to keep it safe from defacement. Cutting the 24-hour security was obviously the wrong thing to do,” Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice issued in a statement.
The city of Orlando hasn’t said whether the vandalism was recorded on any of the security cameras that appeared to be in place. It is also unclear whether there are plans to increase security at the site.
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