Victims of the June 2016 Florida nightclub massacre will receive nearly $8.5 million in grant money from the federal government.
The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced its Office for Victims of Crime would grant the funds on Wednesday.
Officials in Florida will then distribute the money for emotional and financial support for victims’ families, those wounded in the shooting and responders.
“This award will reimburse victim services costs for operation of the Family Assistance Center in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, and ensure that victims, witnesses and first responders receive necessary services to help them adjust in the aftermath of violence, begin the healing process and cope with probable re-traumatization,” Marilyn McCoy Roberts, the OVC’s acting director, said in a statement.
Assistance was given to other victims in mass shooting incidents, including those in San Bernardino, Calif., and Charleston, S.C., the DOJ noted.
The shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, a gay nightclub, left 49 people dead. Dozens more were wounded in what became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The shooter, Omar Mateen, was killed in a shootout with police after taking hostages in a three-hour standoff inside the nightclub.
