Pulse shooting survivor Chris Brodman died in the early morning hours while attending a friend’s birthday party in North Tampa Sept. 11.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Brodman’s identity Sept. 13 after notifying his next of kin.
Deputies found Brodman laying in the back yard of the Tampa residence unconscious, according to a HCSO press release. Several people and paramedics with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue paramedics attempted CPR to no avail. Brodman was pronounced deceased on scene.
“The Medical Examiners preliminary examination showed no physical signs of homicidal violence,” HCSO Public Information Office Larry McKinnon says. “Now it’s a matter of forensics and toxicology to come back from the Medical Examiner’s Office to come up with the official cause of death.”
Brodman’s boyfriend, Cord Cedeno, took to Facebook with pictures of the two of them together, expressing his grief.
“I still can’t believe my baby is gone. I can’t sleep, I can’t breathe, I don’t know how I’m going to go on without him,” Cedeno wrote.
Orlando News 6 spoke with Brodman days after he escaped Pulse.
“We went out to the patio to have a cigarette, and we were out there when the shots started to be fired,” Brodman said. “I said, ‘Run. Just run, run, run.’ And we all just ran out the bar.”
News 6 also went with Brodman as he got a Pulse tribute tattoo.
The HCSO will not be releasing more information pending further investigation.
Cedono has started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Brodman’s funeral expenses.
