Families Take Final Tours of Pulse Nightclub Before Demolition Begins

ORLANDO, Fla. – After nearly a decade, relatives of the victims and survivors of the Pulse nightclub tragedy have begun revisiting the site where 49 individuals lost their lives.

The City of Orlando has initiated private tours of the nightclub, starting on Wednesday with additional tours scheduled until Saturday. These visits are organized before the nightclub is demolished to make room for a permanent memorial, which is set to be finalized by the summer of 2027.

Christine Leinonen, whose son Christopher Drew Leinonen was a victim of the 2016 tragedy, was among those who visited on Wednesday. Shortly after her walkthrough, she addressed the public outside the site.

“Over 20 people died on that dance floor,” she said. “The dance floor that I just walked around and it’s heartbreaking as a mother.”

Leinonen said she tried to imagine her son’s final moments as she stood inside the club.

“I was trying to picture, where was Christopher? Why did Christopher end up dying right there on the dance floor and couldn’t make it out?” she said. “Where was he? What was he seeing? And why was he not able to see an exit door?”

According to the City of Orlando, 34 people, including survivors and loved ones of victims, toured the club on Wednesday. Buses departed from a downtown Orlando hotel to the site throughout the day. So far, 25 of the 49 victims’ families have requested walk-throughs before the building is demolished.

“I needed to see the space. I needed to see how big it was,” Leinonen said. “It’s not closure. It’s realistic.”

She acknowledged that the experience was emotionally difficult but necessary.

“They are planning on demolishing it. I’m never going to be given the opportunity again,” she said. “I would have regretted it if I hadn’t gone through it. I needed to see where my son took his last breath.”

Despite the pain, Leinonen said nothing she experienced during the tour could compare to what her son endured that night.

“As painful as it is, it’s nowhere near as painful as what my son experienced that night,” she said. “How could walking through even compare to what he went through?”

Additional walk-throughs for families and survivors are scheduled through Saturday.