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Politics and Activism

3 Great Tragedies Strike Orlando

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." -- MLK, Jr.

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3 Great Tragedies Strike Orlando
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The state of Florida has gone through some very horrific tragedies, all within a five-day time frame. On June 11, 2016, Christina Grimmie was shot at one of her concerts while she was meeting with guests. On June 12, 49 people were killed and over 50 people were injured at a Nightclub shooting. Tragically, on June 14, a two-year-old from Nebraska was snatched by an alligator at Disney and was found dead a day later. Orlando has been through a lot, and now is the time for the country, and the local community, to come together in this time of tragedy,

Christina Grimmie was only 22-years-old when she was gunned down and killed. It is speculated her killer was obsessed with Grimmie, and he did not plan on shooting himself; he planned on returning to his place of residence.

She rose to fame on NBC's "The Voice," where she performed a cover of Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball." But before that, she made YouTube videos, those of which had millions of views.

Christina was performing in Orlando with the band Before You Exit that night. Her brother tackled the gunman after shots rang out. She was shot on June 10 and was pronounced dead on June 11. Many celebrities and close friends took to social media to express their remorse. Her voice coach, Adam Levine, paid for her funeral services. A video of her audition for "The Voice" is below. She finished in third place.


On June 12, there was a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Omar Mateen, the identified shooter, erupted the city in a panic when he shot over 100 people. Sadly, 49 of those individuals died and 53 injuries have been reported. The suspect was shot and killed on site, and his wife now may be facing charges for being associated and previously knowing about the act he committed. Also, before he committed this shooting, he called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the radical Islamic terrorist group, ISIS. This shooting was marked as the deadliest shooting in United States history, surpassing the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The day after the shooting, there were lines at all of the local blood banks to donate blood to the victims. People from all over the country are opening up support to the victims. Celebrities and various other figures are looking to the government to talk about the large debate over guns and why laws should be changed. The FBI is currently investigating more into the life of Mateen and will continue to do so. Pictured below are some of the victims of the shooting.

At a Disney Resort, a two-year-old boy was snatched by an alligator and was taken. There was a frantic search for the boy for about a day, and then officials found his body in the water. An autopsy found that the boy's cause of a death was drowning and trauma. This little boy came from Nebraska and was visiting Disney with his family. He was snatched from the resort lagoon. There were few puncture wounds found, but according to experts, that's normal activity when an alligator attacks. The parents of the young toddler witnessed this horrific event and even tried to pry the alligator's mouth open, but their efforts were not successful.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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