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St. Petersburg community remembers 49 lives lost in Pulse shooting

A community celebrates 49 lives lost 3 years ago
Posted at 10:29 PM, Jun 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-12 23:21:43-04

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The St. Petersburg community got together to remember the lives lost at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

June 12 marks the third anniversary of the mass shooting that killed 49 people and injured dozens more.

Project No Labels, a nonprofit, hosted an event called "Put A Little Pulse in Your Heart" at Enigma on Central Avenue in St. Pete.

Project No Labels focuses on uniting the LGBT community with straight allies through positive activities and events.

"The last two years has been about tragedy. We want to move forward with celebration of life and light," said Jenn Roberts, Project Manager for Project No Labels.

RELATED: Remembering the Pulse nightclub shooting 3 years later

The group held a moment of silence, shared a video remembering the victims and broke glow sticks.

"We wanted to celebrate and commentate the 49 lives by carrying their light forward and continuing the dance and celebrating who they were as opposed to celebrating the tragedy," said Roberts.

Janine Fatone lost four friends at Pulse and knew others who were injured at the club. She worked nearly 10 years at the club as a karaoke host before moving to St. Petersburg.

"You could be who you are you are, never had to shy away from anything you are , it didn’t matter, straight, gay transgender, did not matter. We had a great time. It was a great club," said Janine Fatone.

She said after the tragedy, the community bonded together by love.

"Everybody really came together and they’re not separating and that's a huge thing. We're all standing together as one. We're not standing together separately now," said Fatone.