ORLANDO, FLORIDA — Pulse nightclub was demolished on March 18, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. The city of Orlando will construct a memorial at the site to commemorate the people killed in the mass shooting.

Forty-nine people were killed and dozens of others were wounded in the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub. The Pulse nightclub shooting was the second most lethal mass shooting in U.S. history.

An orange crane struck the dark gray stone building during the demolition, with at least six police cars nearby. The crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub remained white and gray on March 18, 2026.

The city of Orlando purchased the Pulse nightclub site in 2023. In 2025, the state painted over a rainbow crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub that had been painted to commemorate victims.

Omar Mateen was 29 years old at the time of the 2016 attack. Omar Mateen was killed in a shootout by law enforcement after a three-hour-long siege.

Omar Mateen used a handgun and a Sig Sauer MCX rifle in the attack. The handgun and Sig Sauer MCX rifle were legally purchased in the week before the attack, according to officials.

During the shooting, Omar Mateen called 911 and pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS, according to officials. Before the attack, Omar Mateen called authorities and told them of his affiliation with ISIS, according to authorities.

In 2013, federal authorities investigated Omar Mateen after allegedly making inflammatory comments about radical Islamic propaganda, according to officials. In 2014, the FBI investigated Omar Mateen as a potential suicide bomber, according to officials. All investigations into Omar Mateen were closed.