Just months before killing 49 people and injuring 53 at an Orlando nightclub, Omar Marteen attended his sister’s wedding anniversary party.
Event planner Tommie McDermid told the Palm Beach Post that she didn’t put two and two together until friends told her recently that her friend Mariam’s brother, who attended the party, was the same Fort Pierce man accused of killing 49 people and wounding 53 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12.
McDermid works with Mariam at weddings, where Mariam acts as hair stylist and makeup artist.
“I was very sad for Mariam. She is a wonderful person,” McDermid said. “I have never had one moment’s hesitation about being friends with her. I was shocked and felt bad for everyone that lost their lives and just could not believe it.”
Although Mariam and her husband live in Fort Pierce, the celebration took place in a rented West Palm Beach waterfront pavilion. The pavilion is located next to the city’s Great Lawn and Intracoastal Waterway. This was because of the beautiful venue, as well as to to accommodate most of the 175 guests flying into the nearby airport.
The venue decision was just one of the hundreds of details involved in planning a party. Part of the city’s renovation of the waterfront several years before, it is known as the epicenter for festivals and events.
Less than six months later, the happiness for his sister would wear off and tragedy would strike. On June 12, 29-year-old Omar Mir Seddique Marteen stepped into a gay club and killed 49 before being shot and killed himself.
Since the tragedy, McDermid has not been in contact with Marteen’s sister. “I felt like it was a family time and that they have a lot of things going on.”
Most of the guests who attended the wedding celebrations wanted nothing to with Marteen.
