Orlando mass shooting survivor dies at party

Chris Brodman had spoken publicly about the deadly attack at Pulse nightclub just three months earlier

Brodman got a tattoo of the Pulse nightclub in tribute to the 49 victims (Chris Brodman / Facebook)

One of the survivors of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando and who spoke publicly about the attack has died just three months later at a party.

Chris Brodman, 34, was at a friend’s house near Tampa when paramedics were called in the early hours of Sunday morning. They found him unresponsive in the garden.

Brodman died at the house after their life-saving measures failed to resuscitate him, according to the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office.

Friends have posted on social media that they are “heartbroken”.

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, detecitves did not find any evidence of trauma or violence. An autopsy has been carried out but the cause of death will not be determined until the toxicology test results are available.

Brodman was on the patio of the Pulse nightclub on 12 June when gunman Omar Mateen burst in with a semi-automatic weapon and killed 49 people.

Brodman said on Facebook that he was finishing up a cigarette at the end of the night to celebrate his birthday, when he heard gunfire.

He thought it was music at first, but then he saw blood.

He hid under a table and behind the bar, and then managed to run across the street.

He later spoke to local news channels of his narrow escape, and he got a Pulse tattoo in memory of the victims.

A week after the shooting, he wrote: “I look back and what stands out the most for me is how much support and love has been shown both here in Orlando and around the world.”

Brodman’s boyfriend said on Facebook that he is collecting funds for funeral expenses.

“I don’t know how I’m going to go on without him,” he wrote.