Club Owner Hosts "Pulse Is Alive" Street Party

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ORLANDO (CBSMiami/AP) — The owner of the nightclub where 49 people died during a shooting rampage hosted a street party Thursday night to show that "Pulse is alive."

The party had a Latin theme, since it was "Latin night" at Pulse on June 12th when gunman Omar Mateen opened fire in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. In addition to those killed, another 53 patrons were wounded.

Pulse owner Barbara Poma said the block party was meant to show that Pulse's mission continues and that the club is moving forward.

For Orlando Torres, the event offered an opportunity to hug friends and dance with people who were regular patrons at the bar. He said he spent hours hidden inside the club's bathroom the night of the shooting. Mateen died in a gun battle with police.

"I would have died but for the person who fell on me when they were shot," Torres told the Orlando Sentinel. "Even so, I felt the killer poke me in the back to see if I would move."

Carlos Perez, an employee at the nightclub, said the street party helped workers feel better, but not normal.

"We can't feel normal yet after what happened," Perez said.

Poma hasn't decided if the gay nightclub will ever reopen.