The state of Florida painted over a rainbow crosswalk, which served as a memorial to the victims of a 2016 mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub, in the dark of night on Wednesday.
“We are devastated to learn that overnight the state painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer wrote in a Thursday post on X, formerly Twitter.
Dyer noted that the crosswalk was installed by the state and was intended to honor the 49 people who were killed in the shooting at the gay club. It’s one component of a larger memorial aimed at commemorating the victims of the horrific tragedy, he said.
Dyer and other Democratic lawmakers denounced the state’s move — and the secretive way authorities handled it.
“They illegally vandalized city property without providing the city of Orlando notice or getting their approval,” state Sen. Carlos Smith (D) said in a video shared on X. “Of course they did this in the middle of the night because they knew what they were doing was wrong.”
