On Friday, mourners will remember the tragic day four years ago when 49 people lost their lives after a shooting inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Gunman Omar Mateen was killed after a three-hour standoff with SWAT team members on June 12, 2016, during Latin night at the popular LGBTQ club. Mateen had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. At the time, the Pulse massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a moment of silence and state flags to be flown at half-staff on Friday. The governor also declared the day Pulse Remembrance Day.
Several virtual events will take place to remember the tragedy while dealing with social distancing in the coronavirus pandemic. A pre-taped, online ceremony was being held as the area around the club was closed to the public Friday, though survivors, family members of victims and first-responders were being allowed to visit.
Officials from the Pulse Memorial Design Team held the first of three events this past April, showing off the three-part design set to honor and remember the lives lost.
The plan calls for the original Pulse building to remain with a cross section allowing visitors to walk through with music playing through the granite walls. Down the street, a tower will be built to serve as a museum for the lives lost while a shaded survivor walk will span from the nightclub into downtown Orlando.
"I think it's going to be beautiful. I think it's going to be great for the city, too, to open up that part of the city and have trees and parks and have a place where people can gather," Orlando resident John Hurst told NBC affiliate WESH-TV.
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The design’s director said the plans could change depending on feedback after the presentations, but current plans have everything opening in either 2022 or 2023.
