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Vigil held at Valencia College in honor of Pulse shooting victims

ORLANDO, Fla. — As Orlando mourns the loss of 49 lives, many people are in pain because they knew multiple victims.

Seven of the victims had ties to Valencia College.

Some had just recently left the school, while others were current students, and attended classes just days before the attack.

Students are gathering Wednesday on the east campus of Valencia College to hold a vigil in remembrance of the 49 victims.

“We realized this is not just a club that had a shooting, this is a tragedy,” said Rudy Darden, an English professor at Valencia College. “One of the kids from our Comp 2 class didn't make it today. He was at the nightclub during the shooting and got shot.  His name was Cory Connell.”
Connell graduated from Edgewater High School, worked at Publix and hoped to be a firefighter.
“He was ambitious. That is classic Cory: plans for the future,” said Darden.
Darden, a father himself, said it pained him to even imagine what Connell's parents must be going through.
“I am so sorry that the passions and the goals and the ambition that he had, the dreams that he had, were taken away, and they are left with that,” said Darden.

Cox Media Group

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