Survivors of the Orlando shooting have shared an emotional thank you to supporters.
The assault, which took place at LGBT nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida on 12 June, has been described as the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, leaving 49 people dead and another 53 injured.
Shortly after the incident, a fundraiser was set up via GoFundMe to allow people to donate money to help victims and their families with medical bills and funeral costs among other things – it raised over $9.5 million.
Ricardo Negron, a survivor of the shooting, said: “Thank you for caring, thank you for acting like decent human beings, capable of empathising with the pain that others are feeling.”
Brandon Wolf, another survivor, added: “It restores my faith in humanity that all of these people from all of these countries could give a little love.”
It was recently announced that the families of those killed in the shooting would receive $350,000 each, while the 37 who spent time in hospital would receive between $65,000 and $300,000, and the 31 who received outpatient treatment would receive around $35,000 each.
Another 182 survivors who were at the nightclub when the shooting took place, but managed to escape without any physical injury, will receive about $25,000 each – their identities have been verified by the FBI.
Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, said: “We weren’t defined by the hate-filled act of a demented killer, we’ve been defined by our response, and that’s a response of love, and compassion, and unity.”
A new fundraiser, named the Honour Them With Action Fund, has since been set up on GoFundMe to help “uproot bigotry and fight for equality” in the aftermath of the massacre.
Watch their emotional thank you video below:
