CHECKING ON PULSE: One Survivor Takes 1st Steps, Another Upgraded from Critical Condition

Death Toll in Orlando Terror Attack Likely to Remain at 49; Media Outlets Seek 911 Calls in Court

Nine weeks after the terror attack that left 49 people dead at Pulse Orlando nightclub, there’s some good news to report. 

Last weekend, one of the 53 people wounded in the terror attack that left 49 others dead, 26-year-old Angel Colon, took his first unassisted steps (video above). 

Colon, who was shot multiple times in one leg and broke the other trying to escape, was finally pulled to safety by an Orlando police officer. 

On the two-month anniversary of the attack, Colon posted a video on Facebook of his first steps. It’s since been viewed more than 300,000 times. 

Using a walker, Colon also recently spoke and even danced at a conference for fellow Zumba instructors in Orlando (pictured).  

“This past month has been the worst month of my life, but going through this, there’s been nothing but love and support from everyone,” Colon said at the conference. An online fundraising campaign to assist with Colon’s recovery has brought in more than $17,000. 

Meanwhile, the last Pulse survivor who remained in critical condition was upgraded this week to “guarded,” according to a report from The Orlando Sentinel. Doctors at Orlando Regional Medical Center initially feared the death toll would rise, but now it appears likely to remain at 49. Hospital officials didn’t provide any details about the survivor’s condition other than to say it was upgraded on Tuesday. 

“I think if you don’t believe in miracles, if you don’t believe in God, then you haven’t learned about the Pulse event, because clearly, there have been miracles here,” the hospital’s Dr. Michael Cheatham said last month. “And we just hope that there will be one more miracle. And that [the patient] will be able to get out of the hospital.”

Finally, arguments continued this week in a lawsuit from two dozen media groups that are seeking the release of 911 calls related to the shooting, the Associated Press reports. The city of Orlando maintains the recordings are exempt from Florida public records law.