The city of Orlando will buy Florida’s Pulse nightclub where 49 people were killed in June for $2.25 million (Rs 14.96 crore approximately) and turn it into a memorial. Mayor Buddy Dyer told Orlando Sentinel that the plan would materialise after 12-18 months and that they will seek the opinions of city residents about the memorial.

Dyer said the memorial was “to honour the memory of the victims and as testament to the resilience of our community”. He added, “There are lots of people that are making a visit to the site part of their trip, part of their experience of Orlando, so I think 12-18 months of leaving it as-is would be appropriate.”

The owners of Pulse nightclub had announced the memorial in August, reported The Rolling Stone. However, soon after the announcement, they had withdrawn information on social media.

On June 12, Florida resident Omar Mateen had opened fire at the LGBTQ nightclub, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others. The Islamic State group had later taken responsibility for the shooting in its news agency, Amaq. Mateen was killed by police inside the club. The incident was the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.