Commissioner Patty Sheehan

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This post discusses the shooting that took place at the Pulse
Nightclub on June 12, 2016. It contains difficult content, so please do
not read on if you feel you may be effected. 

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously. 

Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan has just won her bid for re-election when her opponent dropped out of the race. I know her as a strong supporter of the Orlando arts scene and that was exemplified by the art decorating her office in City Hall. It was encouraging to see art by local artists that I admire, and of course Patty is also an artist.

In 2016 she also had just been re-elected and sworn in. She was working on an initiative using left over campaign funds to cut back on graffiti, there was a duplex ordinance in the works, and she was battling puppy mills. Then Pulse happened and everything shifted. When something that horrific happens there is so much to do. Someone can make less than a $700 investment and do millions of dollars in damage in minutes. No one should have that kind of power, but Orlando had to deal with the aftermath. There are so many things that you can never ever prepare for. No other city or any other community, should have to go through this. It was horrific.

Pulse was formerly an Italian restaurant. It was such a pretty club. Ron Legler, was Barbara Poma‘s partner at the time it opened. Ron loved theater, one room was like the Moulan Rouge, it had a huge chandelier, a dance floor, it was beautiful. Then there was a darker bar in the back, then you had this white room. There were planters and LEDs would change the entire color of the room, it was so cool. It was so theatrical and amazing. They remodeled it a couple of times since then. Barbara’s brother had died of AIDS and that fueled Barbara’s passion and why it was called Pulse. It is unfair that something so awful happened to someone who is so good. She had to deal with much of the anger from families.

On June 11, 2016 Patty remembered going for a walk, painting, it was a typical day, but Sunday morning June 12 will stand out for as long as she lives. Her phone was off and she got up around 7:30am to 8am that morning. She went to check her phone and she thought, “Damn, my phone is blowing up.” Everybody was calling. Just then the phone rang, the house phone. It was Frank Billingsley the chief of staff. He said, “Are you sitting down?” He said “I don’t know how to tell you this but 21 people have been shot at Pulse Nightclub.” She relied, “No, no no, please tell me it is not the largest mass shooting. I’ll be right down.” She called Eddie, her police liaison. Eddie used to work off duty at Pulse. He had just stopped since he had other commitments on Sundays. Eddie picked her up. The car pulled right up to Kaley and Orange Avenue by Einstein Beagles. This was about 8:30am.

All the officers faces were ashen. It was very raw. She looked over and saw two people wrapped in tarps. Eddie didn’t want her to see that. She looked down and saw the blood. There were places where people had fallen, and you could  tell they were dragged across the street. There were bullet casings and and she thought “Oh my God, this is Orange Avenue.”  She looked down, and realized she was standing in blood. There was blood everywhere. She walked over near the club and saw Jim Young. He had been her police liaison for a few years, so they were close. She asked, “Where is Barbara?” he said,  “We don’t know yet.” She thought, “No, no, no.” She thought Barbara the club owner was inside.

Mayor Buddy Dyer and several other commissioners went into a command center for an update. It was an air conditioned tent. They said 21 people had died at the time. They were really matter of fact about it and she was devastated. They didn’t understand what she was going through. Thank god Eddie was there. She walked back out with Eddie and Jim, they were her safe emotional space. The governor was there and she just didn’t want to deal with him. He had never been supportive of the LGBTQ community. Terry DeCarlo got there. She just hugged him. Pastor Kevin Cobaris came over and asked if he could prey with them. A picture of that moment went everywhere. Joe Burbank took that picture.

Later at a press conference they said 50 had died including the gunman in the count.  There was a hush. Media are usually always talking but everybody gasped. Media are usually don’t react they are trying to be professional, but she remembered that audible gasp. Everybody was shocked. The  number was unbelievable. She just hugged Terry. So multiple politicians got up to speak and she thought , “No one had said the word, Gay, they didn’t say Latino.” So she got up there and said, “We are a gay lesbian, bisexual, transgender community and we are united. If you think you are going to destroy us you are not because we are a strong, resilient, decent, loving people. This is who we are.” She was mad because she didn’t want them to be erased.

Patty’s phone blew up after her remarks. Everyone wanted to talk to her and a PR person stepped in to handle the deluge. She was told, “You need to be the voice of this, because others will take advantage and you are going to say the right things to help your community even if they are not.” This became her roll. She started doing interviews. She was concerned about Barbara and found out that she had been in Mexico and she was coming back. Thank god she was not inside. But then she thought, she will be devastated that she wasn’t there.

She remembered seeing Christine Leinonenwho kept asking, Where is my son?” Patty could only relate “I didn’t know, and that I’m sorry. It was so hot, and people were sitting on the sidewalks crying. They had nowhere to go. They were taken to the hotel but there was too much of a scene. People
were just looking for their kids. That was so heartbreaking and there was no information yet. Finally they opened up the Beardall Center so they had somewhere to go, looking for some answer.

Then she would get shocked back into anger since CNN wanted to do an interview with Pam Bondi and Patty together. So Pam walked right up to her and said, “You know Patty we have to do something to help the LGBTQ community.” Patty responded “I look forward to the change.” She needed to  be diplomatic since State benefits were on the line and the families were going to need the funeral benefits. Patty was already set with a mic. She thought, “I can’t do this.” A producer walked up and asked if she was OK with doing the interview and she said no. The FBI brought resources, the State people brought resources, they were helping. As much some politicians did not help, Senator Bill Nelson was getting families visas and all the things that were needed. Not all families were here they had to come from other places.

Patty met Christopher Hanson on the street. She had seen him on the news. She told him he needed to go to the Center, to get help, there were counselors there. There was another young man, he came up to her between media interviews and said, “My friend is in my apartment and he has been shot. He is undocumented.” She grabbed him by the arm and said, “You have to promise me, Immigration is not going to come, ICE is not going to come, promise me you will take your friend to the hospital.” Stuff like that was heart breaking. Patty went from media tent to media tent. Her goal was to talk about the LGBTQ community, The Latin American community, the people of color who were impacted. She wanted to talk about victims and to get blood to the blood banks, and to raise money to help. Equality Florida had a Go Fund Me already in place. She wanted to be sure people gave to a trusted source. There were many scams afterwards.

She had been on the street from 8:30 in the morning until 11:30 that night. She stayed the next day all day as well. It was so hot. Her feet were burnt from the soles of her shoes. It was a frenzy. She finally got back to her office later that week. She expected a pile of complaints about the streets being closed, hundreds of people were being inconvenienced. There was only one complaint from a guy that hadn’t bothered to renew his drivers license. Everyone else was offering help. There were people on the street with food. All these restaurants that were loosing business brought out food to all the people at the scene. Ace hardware was was cooking hot dogs for everybody on their grills. They were closed they lost thousands of dollars in business. The church put out drinks for everybody. We recharged our phones at the church and they put pastries and food out for everyone. Everyone was so kind. If there is a message to this, it is that love wins, that we all came together. You can never just turn the lights off, that says that darkness wins. You want to be a light to the world you want to show love. That is what Orlando did.

Equality Florida wanted to have the vigil right away. The city tried to discourage them for as long as they could, and they had the vigil that following Monday. Patty wasn’t even planning to go. She was honestly mad at them because they still had officers on the street. There were so many resources that were needed elsewhere. She decided to go just to find Eddie because there were just no cops. Should something happen she wanted to be there with Eddie to help protect people. She wasn’t planning to go on stage but when she walked up, people were clapping and she was overwhelmed. She didn’t feel worthy of the applause, because they had died. People told her she did a good job but it wasn’t about her getting attention, it was about the 49 it was the worst moment of her life. She doesn’t remember what she said. Everything said those first 4 or 5 days was all off the cuff. She wanted to tell the story of Orlando, many people have this idea of Orlando being the theme parks, but we have a downtown. As mad as she was at Equality Florida it was a beautiful thing that happened. She remembered the bells ringing 49 times. She approached a news cameraman and asked how long it took to ring the bells 49 times. It took eight and half minutes. An eternity.

Patty lost half her friends to AIDS between the age of 25 and 30. she
dealt with some horrific things in her life, but it prepared her so she
could be on that street to try and help those families.  Don Price put aside 49 cemetery plots at Greenwood Cemetery in case they were needed. There was a family with a divorce, and the dad took all the money and he buried his son in a paupers cemetery. So they are trying to get him back to Orlando but he has to be cremated and they are Catholic, there are all these issues.  It is still going on. It was great of the hospital to forgive the bills. But there is continuing care. The money raised by the one fund was enough to bury victims but it wasn’t enough to help the most horrifically wounded victims. There are about ten of them that have injuries that are going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Patty has become friends with a lot of the survivors. They are amazing, beautiful, loving, and forgiving people. They
did not deserve what happened to them. Many people have moved on. One
survivor went to work and sat down and the incision in his stomach
opened up. He doesn’t get to move on. We are still healing from Pulse. We
are probably never going to be the same.

Christopher Hanson talks about surviving the Pulse Nightclub attack.

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Christopher Hanson grew up in a small town that was just a 20 minute drive away from where Mathew Shephard was brutally murdered for being gay. On a vacation to Orlando her remembered gong to Universal and seeing rows of cherry blossom trees. It was a gorgeous sight and he decided at that moment that he would move to the City Beautiful. To him the trees symbolized universal love.

On the evening of June 12, 2016, he decided to put on his $3 American flag t-shirt and go to the Pulse nightclub for the first and only time to dance. Since the red striped ran vertically he felt the shirt thinned him a bit. He was new in town and hoped to meet new friends. His roommates didn’t want to go. At 11PM his GPS made him pull into the club driveway the wrong way. At 11:08PM he had to pay for a $10 wrist band. He remembers because he had just missed the opportunity to avoid the cover. He walked through a curtain of beads to enter the club. “I want those beads” he thought to himself. He was meeting someone for a date and was an hour late. The gentleman who was a doctor wasn’t pleased and he left. In the Adonis room dancers in jock straps and tennis shoes dances on the bar. “Wow” Christopher thought, “This is the kind of place I love to find.” In a trip to the bathrooms, he thought to himself that the windows were rather small because he couldn’t slip away from his date if he wanted to.

He ordered another double Jack and Ginger. It was Latin Night, so he couldn’t talk to many people, but music is a universal language. He spoke to Kate the bartender. There was an underwear contest and the straight guy won with his denim underwear. After a few drinks and he leaned up against the wall to steady himself. J Low’s song, “International” was playing.  He heard a Pow, Pow Pow sound. He moved to the beat thinking it was the bass. Then there was a repetition of bullets and he heard screaming. There was the sound of the liquor bar glass shattering. People fell to the floor around him and he dropped himself. Blood spattered. He saw the flashes from the barrel of the gun. He wasn’t shot, so he crawled past the bathroom. People were running inside, but he knew that they had no way out. People stepped on him and over him to get out to the patio. The person to the left of him was shot. Outside on the patio, he stood. People were pushing against a fence gate to try and get out. It didn’t open. He was amazed to find that the drink was still in his hand. He put the cup down. People crushed up against the closed gate until it finally gave way. Outside, a police office was pointing his weapon at the nightclub entrance.

Outside on a curb, Christopher helped a Spanish speaking man named who was shot twice. He took off his bandana and shoved it into a bullet hole to help slow the bleeding. Blood was bubbling up, boiling. He used his phone to call his dad, saying, “I’m alive.” A girl was lying on the grass. She said, “Get me out of the grass.” There were no medical gloves. She had been shot in the arm and back. He didn’t know about the wound in her back but after he cradled her in his lap, he realized that the pressure from his legs might have slowed the bleeding from her back wound. Mina Justice was in the street looking for her son who was inside in the bathroom. She got a text from him that said, “I love you.” “I’ll never forget her face,” Christopher said, “I remember passing the bathroom and thought, there is no way out.” I hugged her and had to say, “It will be OK.” He knew it was not going to be OK, and he sat down and broke down for the first time.

O-Town: Voices from Orlando

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I was still reporting about the Orlando International Fringe Festival last year when the horrific shooting at the Pulse nightclub happened on June 12, 2016. Fringe is once again going to burst onto the Lock Haven Park complex bringing drama, and comedy for a solid week on unrelenting theater and fun. Last year after the shooting I asked Orlando artists to go to the Falcon Bar to create 49 portraits of the innocent lives lost at Pulse. Those 49 portraits were then exhibited at the Orlando Science Center and on that evening I was interviewed about the project. That interview then became the source of inspiration for a monologue in O-Town.

Prints of the 49 portraits hung behind the stage giving the somber impression of prison bars. The play is based on a series of interviews conducted mostly by David Lee, of people who have been affected by the tragedy. It opens with a monologue inspired by Our Town written by Thornton Wilder. The opening described Orlando on the eve of the shooting. People and places would be very different the next day. A homeless man would be lighting candles at the Dr Phillips memorial site each night, a costume shop owner would soon be creating thousands of rainbow ribbons…

I spoke with Christopher Hanson multiple times about how he survived that night at Pulse. The actor playing Christopher told the story of survival and personal responsibility with humor and lots of heart. Then the actor playing me took to the stage. I was surprised to find myself tearing up based on things I had said a year ago. It seems like a lifetime ago. People in the audience were also getting choked up. One woman cried through the whole show. I had just one paper towel I had decided to bring in from the men’s room.

Other monologues described fighting hate with love using Angel Action Wings made of PVC and and white fabric. People who planned to protest the funerals of Pulse victims were blocked by these angels who would sing to drown out their hate. A first responders wife described how her husband was changed by his evening in the aftermath of Pulse. He would experience PTSD from that night onward and there was no disability for the mental anguish. Had be broken his leg then there would be help.

These stories are all part of the larger picture of an entire community trying to recover from a horrible act of violence. A year later and the scars are still there, but Orlando had answered with love and acceptance. Hateful people still thrive, feeling invulnerable in a country in which politics encourage hate and accusations.  They try to cause senseless harm, but love is stronger that hate. It was an emotional night. After the show. I was hugged by several people who recognized me. I shut my eyes and felt the warmth. Tears streamed down my face.

All the monologues in O-Town: Voices from Orlando will be presented together on the Eve of the one year mark of the attack on Pulse Nightclub on Sunday June 11, 2017 at 7pm at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in the Margeson Theater. Profits will benefit the onePulse Foundation.org.

I can’t recommend this show enough. The monologues focus the audiences attention on aspects of the tragedy that never made their way to mainstream media outlets. It is a human and multi layered fabric. I met the actor, Daniel Cooksley, who played my part on stage. He said he had never performed a part with the subject sitting in the audience.

Fringe Show Times:

May 17, 2017 at 6PM

May 20, 2017 at 7PM

May 22, 2017 at 7PM

May 26, 2017 at 8:15PM

May 27, 2017 at 12:15PM

May 28, 2017 at 11:15AM

Orlando Traveling Mural Meeting.

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The Orlando Traveling Mural meeting was held on the second floor at Sam Flax. Colleen Ardaman moderated. I arrived a bit late and the meeting was well underway. Several news stations were there along with survivors, and family of victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Some of the painting s of victims were hung on the wall behind a panel of people involved in the project. The fact that this mural will help memorialize the people lost was stresses by Mayra, the mother of Amanda Alvear who was tragically shot that evening of June 12. Colleen mistook the portrait above Mayra’s head for Amanda, but it was Amanda’s best friend Mercedes who also died that night. Amanda may have been able to escape that evening but she went back for her friend according to Amanda’s brother.

Much of the meeting was an opportunity to express the good will surrounding the project. People directly affected by the tragedy will be adding hand prints to the panels to allow everyone to contribute as a community. Coleen handed out sea shells to everyone in the room. She explained that the shell was a reminder of the living being that once inhabited it. The mural would act as a similar reminder.

The survivors sat in front of me at the meeting. A female newscaster crawled close to them so she could hear their names. I write the names down and hope to meet each someday. India Cedeno, a Pulse shooting survivor, said she also survived 9/11 in NYC. She began to recount how she and her son had escaped the club that night. As she spoke, she got choked up. Christopher Hanson another shooting survivor comforted her. As she recovered she explained that she was overwhelmed by the love in the room. I still don’t know if art can heal, the talk rings shallow to me, but it is bringing people together which in itself opens doors and breaks down isolating barriers.

Taking your Pulse town hall meeting

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Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC), the hospital that treated most of the Pulse survivors, hosted a Pulse town hall meeting at the hospital just a few blocks north of Pulse. I had to ask the valet which building the meeting was in and he pointed me in the right direction. The entry had a metal detector so I had to empty my pockets and assure the guard that pencils are not weapons. The way to the meeting room was long and winding. I was a bit late, since I had rushed to the hospital after teaching a class. As I slipped in the Town Hall meeting was already underway.

WMFE’s Matthew Peddie spoke with survivors, first responders, city officials and LGBT/Latinx community leaders.The first panelists were Christopher Hanson who was in the club and survived, Dr. Joshua Corsa, Orlando Health, who wrote the viral post about his blood-soaked shoes, and Nurse Emily Brown, of Orlando Health.

Christopher Hanson was asked about his experience on the evening of June 12, and he briefly described his night. I have heard two interviews and was amazed at how brief he kept his account. Nurse Emily Brown, described her evening if hiding when reports surfaced that there might be a shooter in the hospital. She had been told that things were about to get crazy and then 36 patients arrived in the first 36 minuted. There was no time to think. Dr. Joshua Corsa was asked about his sneakers. He worked for 30 hours straight trying to save lives and when he finally had a moment to reflect, he realized his brand new sneakers were blood soaked. He wore that same pair of sneakers every day until the last survivor left the hospital.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orlando Police Department Chief John Mina were the next people on stage. Speaking about a future memorial, Buddy pointed out that the community process is in some ways more important than the final creation. Everyone should have input into the process.A sculptor submitted a sculpture honoring the Pulse victims but the mayor said that it wasn’t his place to decide what art is appropriate.An audience member stood and asked about what measures are being taken to keep undocumented LGBT survivors safe from being deported if they turn to authorities for help. Chief Mina pointed out that Orlando police have never been involved in deportation. It isn’t their job. Seattle began a program called the Safe Place Initiative which puts rainbow stickers on businesses that support different cultures and diversity. That program will be implemented in Orlando. A woman from the audience stood up to the mic and spoke of the fierce love that came from our city government. Our community experienced a strong commitment to love and that message remains strong today.

The final panelists were Christopher Cuevas, Executive Director of QLatinx and Terry DeCarlo, Executive Director of GLBT Community Center of Central Florida. Christopher feels that people are still struggling in isolation. “Thousands of voices need to be echoed from the mountain tops.” he said. Terry was outraged by the media’s insistence that the 911 tapes be aired on TV. He also hated the video reenactment that was created recently. He warned as many people as he could, but a mom was making dinner in the kit hen and overheard her son on a 911 tape. That level of emotional damage is irreparable. He wished that the media could instead celebrate the lives lost, and share the stories of heros. He was thankful to those who bear witness.

The evening was part of Story Corps: Taking Your Pulse project and the first of a series of Dare to Listen events held in the community on tough topics in 2017. The long sterile hospital hallways felt strangely ominous as I navigated the maze back towards my car.

Christopher Hansen’s one and only night at Pulse.

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The air conditioner unit had been turned off so we could hear Christopher Hansen (Chansen) talk about that horrible night at Pulse. The heat became unbearable so it was turned back on and Chansen moved closer to the camera and microphone.

“You don’t go out thinking you might not make it out.” he said. “You don’t go to a club to become a rat in a cage.” Being in the limelight has had it’s toll. He has been accused of being someone he is not. Strange online conspiracy theorists claim he is an actor, director named Bjorn Jiskoot Jr. Some people need a life. 

However the city of Orlando’s response has made him realize that this is city is his home. “Orlando has come together with love and unity.” Chansen was told by his father, “You need to find a community, if you don’t have a community who is going to miss you?” Since that night at Pulse Chansen has begun to find a network of friends, his knights of the round table.

Pulse has had such an impact on his life. It was his first time in the club and he was new to Orlando. The benefits and fundraisers still continue although the fervor is slowly dying down three months since the shooting. The money raised however isn’t for survivors who were not shot. It is intended for the 53 survivors who have physical wounds. Most of the attention is turned to the 49 victims, while survivors are largely overlooked.  Some fundraising money is lost in the cracks and will never go to those in need. The number of people who claim to have been at Pulse that night is impossibly high. It is very clear that Chansen was there and he helped others survive. It is impossible to know what any of us would do in that situation. Who knew that a night out could change so many lives forever.

Christopher Hansen remembers the Pulse Nightmare.

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Artists working an a Pulse Mural being spearheaded by Michael Pilato spoke with Christopher Hansen, who goes by Chansen, at around 2am on September 12, the three month anniversary of the tragic Pulse shooting.   Red wine and coffee kept us all up for a 49 Hour Pulse Mural Marathon Project.

Chansen grew up in Ohio. As a 14 year old, he remembered hearing of Matthew Shepard, a student of the University of Wyoming in Cheyenne, who was robbed, pistol whipped and tortured by two men for being gay. Mathew was found 18 hours later by a bicyclist tied to a fence, left for dead. He died two days later from his head injuries. That happened not far from where Christopher lived at the time He moved to Cheyenne from Ohio. Working at TGI Fridays brought him North to Wyoming. Because of that horrible crime Chansen knew from a very early age, that people hated him just for who he was. On a trip to Orlando, Chansen went to Universal Studios and saw beautiful Cherry Blossom trees in bloom beside the pristine lake. He knew at that moment that he would live in Orlando. He resigned from his job in Ohio and immediately moved to the City Beautiful.

At 11:07pm on June 12th, Chansen entered Pulse wearing an American Flag T-shirt. He had never been to Pulse before. He remembers the exact time because a $10 cover started at 11pm. “Come on,” he pleaded. “It’s just seven minutes past, no one will notice.” He had to pay the cover. Being new to Orlando, he just wanted to relax, have fun, dance and hopefully meet new friends. “Everything about Pulse was amazing.” he said. Since it was Latin Night, there was plenty of dancing. Although he doesn’t speak Spanish, music is the universal language. He had some drinks. Towards the end of the evening, he ordered a drink at the bar since it was last call. He sank down into a cushy sofa. He remembers not wanting to lean all the way back because he might tumble over backwards. Then the loud bangs started. He thought that the DJ must have been kicking it up a notch. The guy next to him collapsed. There was blood, chaos and pleading.  Glass shattered behind the bar. He dropped to the floor and crawled on his stomach. If he stood and ran, he would make a big moving target.  He considered the bathroom, but remembered a movie in which a date went wrong and someone had to be rescued from the bathroom. No, he had to get out. “Had I been sober, I might have froze.” he recalled. Chansen’s hand was trampled as he crawled out to the back patio. Once he felt concrete below him, he knew he as out.

On the back patio 10 to 15 people were trying to push open a gate. He is convinced someone was holding the gate closed from outside. Angel was shot down beside him.  He saw Jose Martinez (Junior) lying on the ground, and he reached down and touched his leg, His leg was wet and when Chansen looked at his own hand, it looked like he had dipped it in a bucket of red paint. He threw Junior’s arm over his shoulder and made his way across the street. Shots continued to ring out. He saw the shooter walk and shoot Angel a second time. In the blur of activity he believes there could have been a shooter outside as well as a shooter inside. He never saw the shooter’s face. He left his glasses at home.

Junior wasn’t just shot in the leg. He also was shot in the back. Chansen took off his bandana, tied it in a knot, and shoved it in the hole to slow the bleeding. Outside he also found Alecia who was shot in the arm. Sitting on the sidewalk, he had Alecia lean back in his lap. She just wanted to close her eyes but he kept her alert. He asked her name and asked her questions to keep her focused. He told her, “I’m not leaving you, until someone comes for you.” They were both born in May, and she had also just moved to Orlando from Ohio. She loved lions, so he told her she was a king of beasts. He said “Hakuna Matata” which means no worries, “you will survive this.” It turns out Alecia was also shot in the back. The pressure of his leg on her back wound may have kept her from bleeding out.  Chansen’s blood soaked pants were his first hint of her second wound. She said she was having heart trouble. He hasn’t seen Alecia since that horrible night. He did get to speak to her briefly on the phone to find out that she was OK. Chansen called his dad to let him know he was alive. Gunfire was still ringing out in the background. “We were the lucky ones, most people were shot multiple times. We were all directed to go to the hospital.” Chansen stayed with his charges, fearful that they wouldn’t get the help they needed.  In triage they might be overlooked. Shooting victims were tagged with red or yellow. Yellow shooting victims we loaded into pickup trucks first, since there weren’t enough ambulances. He helped carry Alecia to a vehicle.

That night, Chansen helped save two lives, he is a hero, yet still there are haters and trolls who call him a crisis actor. There are even conspiracy theorists who claim the Pulse shooting is a hoax. These arm chair haters are very much the reason such a horrific act could happen right here in Central Florida. Chansen’s response is, “We celebrate love because hate attacked us. We don’t answer hate with hate.” When he got back to his apartment, his American Flag T-shirt was stained with blood.