Pulse Survivor’s Tampa Death: Autopsy Shows No Signs of 'Homicidal Violence'

TAMPA, FL — A 34-year-old man who survived the June massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando died in a Tampa backyard early Sunday morning. The cause of Christopher Scott Brodman’s death remains under investigation.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called out to a home in the 12200 block of Garden Lake Circle around 1:17 a.m. in reference to a person down. When they arrived at the home, they found Brodman unconscious in the backyard. Several people, including Hillsborough County Fire Rescue paramedics, attempted CPR, the agency noted in an email to media. Brodman, however, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Brodman was taken to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office, the sheriff’s office said. Preliminary findings from the autopsy showed no physical signs of homicidal violence.

“The final conclusion of the official cause of death is pending additional forensics and toxicology examination by the Medical Examiner’s Office,” the email said.

No further information is being released at this time.

Brodman, of Orlando, was reportedly in Tampa to attend a birthday party. He was one of the many people inside the near-capacity Pulse nightclub in Orlando when Omar Mateen, 29, opened fire inside the popular gay bar in the early morning hours of June 12. Forty-nine people were killed and 53 others injured before Mateen was shot and killed by police.

Mateen’s rampage has been classified as an act of terror by the federal government. The incident has been deemed the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

A GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Brodman’s funeral expenses has been established. As of Tuesday morning, it had raised about $455 of its $7,000 goal.

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