ORLANDO — The Orlando nightclub where 49 people were slain and 53 others were injured in a mass shooting last month was broken into overnight Thursday, according to police.
The break-in at Pulse reportedly happened hours after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Orlando police turned the facility back over to its owners.
It's not known whether anything was stolen or whether the club sustained any damage, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
Kevin Greene, a friend of the nightclub's owners, told the station the door was kicked in. Pulse employees were seen at the club Thursday morning, some embracing co-workers.
Up until Wednesday, Orlando police or other law enforcement agencies were guarding the scene, but the club will now be required to pay for its own security, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
Sara Brady, a spokeswoman for the club's owners, told the paper the break-in happened around 3:30 a.m., but didn't have any more details.
"I think it's fair to say that the owners are disappointed that someone would do that," she said. – cbsnews.com
The full police report can be found at cityoforlando.net. Here is an excerpt:
I was informed that on 7-14-16, at approximately 0300 hours; a couple of employees (NOI) drove by the business. They noticed that the vehicle gate appeared to be open. In order to better secure the property, they departed and returned with a new lock. As they walked around the exterior of the building, they noticed that the east facing front patio privacy gate was open. This gate allows access to two entry doors for the club. One door faces east the other faces north. Believing that everything was ok, the employees exited the property and secured the vehicle gate with the new lock.
Rosario informed me that he and Barbara arrived at the club at approximately 0900 hours. They entered the exterior fence and they opened the main doors to the club. Approximately 10-15 employees also entered the club. Once inside, everyone began working as needed for the club. At approximately 0920 hours, Rosario found that the east facing door was not locked. When he pushed on it, the door swung open. Previously this door was secured with a sheet of plywood on the outside. The unknown suspect(s) had forcibly removed this exterior sheet of plywood. At this point, Rosario called for a police response.
As I examined the exterior of the east door, I saw were the suspect(s) had used a prying tool to force the plywood away from the screws that held it to the metal door frame. Once the plywood was removed the suspect(s) used the prying tool and forced their way into the business. I also examined the north facing door. The plywood that was designed to secure this door had been pried loose, but was not totally removed from the doorway.
h/t: cbsnews.com
Why would the news release
Why would the news release that info to the world that control had been given back to the owner. That just screams for people to break in or to just try and take a look. Could be nothing more than people hoping to get a glimpse of a gory crime scene.
I just don’t understand why
I just don't understand why anyone would do this. What possible reason could they have? This to me feels like desecration of a sacred place. It is especially troubling since they must have known the club was no longer being protected by police and it was planned. So sad.