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This Tribute For An Orlando Victim Is So Sad

by Alexi McCammond

People all over the country have dealt with the crippling aftermath of the June 12 Orlando shooting at Pulse nightclub. Just a little over a week after the tragic attack, this son's beautiful tribute for his mother who died in the Orlando shooting shows us exactly what grief looks like after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool was at Pulse nightclub with her son, Isaiah Henderson, when the shooter opened fire inside the venue. In order to prevent her son from getting hit, she told him to get down on the ground and she jumped in front of him so she could take the bullets for her child. McCool was 49 when she passed; she was mother to 11 children, including Henderson.

McCool's sister-in-law Ada Pressley told the New York Daily News: "Brenda saw him point the gun. She said, 'Get down,' to Isaiah and she got in front of him. She was shot dead. That's how much she loved her kids. If it weren't for her, he'd of been shot."

McCool's son gave a beautiful and moving tribute to his mother at her funeral held at First United Methodist Church of Orlando. Henderson, 21, opened his eulogy by saying that his mother "literally loved everyone."

Henderson understandably became emotional during his eulogy speech for his mother, NBC News reported. "I didn't want to speak, because I knew this was going to happen," Henderson said as tears streamed down his cheeks. "But I knew I would have regretted it if I never spoke."

Throughout the heartbreaking eulogy, Henderson remembered his mother and the impact she made on everyone around her. "Everybody who knew my mom knew she was the mom everybody wanted. She always took everybody in with open arms. She loved everybody equally, no matter what."

McCool survived cancer twice, NBC News reported, and was fatally shot in front of her son on the night of June 12 at Pulse nightclub. Her son's powerful and emotional tribute reminds us all of the lasting damage done by a senseless shooter in these situations.