Families of Orlando Massacre Victims Getting $350K Each

OneOrlando Fund is distributing funds raised
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 27, 2016 4:49 PM CDT
Families of Orlando Massacre Victims Getting $350K Each
FILE- In this June 18, 2016 file photo, demonstrators show their support during the funeral service for Christopher Andrew Leinonen, one of the victims of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, outside the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, in Orlando, Fla. Following the attack, other victims of mass shootings...   (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Each of the estates of the 49 patrons killed in the gay nightclub massacre in Orlando will receive $350,000 from donations raised for the victims, an official with the OneOrlando Fund said Tuesday. But at least half of the deceased patrons have family members or partners who are fighting over claims as money from the fund is being distributed this week for victims of the worst mass shooting in recent US history. "We do have a number of disputes amongst families of the dead," said Alex Martins, chair of the OneOrlando board and also president of the Orlando Magic basketball team. "It's parents in dispute with a partner, who perhaps they didn't know, or it's estranged parents, claiming each one of them should receive the funds."

No funds will be distributed on those claims until the disputes are resolved, and if they aren't resolved soon, the claims will be sent to probate court to sort out who receives the money, Martins said. The $29.5 million in the fund will be distributed to 299 claimants, with more than half of the money going to the estates of the deceased victims, the AP reports. Thirty-seven patrons who required hospitalization will receive $65,000 to $300,000, depending on how long they were in the hospital; eight victims were in the hospital for more than 24 nights and will receive $300,000 each. Another 31 injured patrons who required outpatient treatment each will get $35,000, and 182 patrons who were at the club but weren't injured will each get $25,000. (More Pulse Orlando shooting stories.)

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