Brian Wilson

bwilson@dnj.com

LA VERGNE — Students who went to La Vergne High School with Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo said they knew him for his optimism and his smile.

More than a year after many graduated with him, classmates returned to campus on Monday to remember the friend they knew as Omar, hours after they learned of his death at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.

“I’m happy that at least something’s here and that he knows that people are there for him and that we love him,” said Ambar Lugo, a classmate and friend of Ocasio-Capo and his family.

About 50 people attended a candlelight vigil outside La Vergne High School to Ocasio-Capo.

He graduated from La Vergne High in May 2015, said Principal Dirk Ash.

The 20-year-old is one of the youngest victims identified by the City of Orlando after a Florida man killed 49 people at a gay nightclub early Sunday morning. The suspect in the shooting, Omar Mateen, was killed by law enforcement hours after the shooting began.

The incident is considered the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

Because of the tourism and environment of the Orlando area, concerns circulated since the shooting happened that someone with Middle Tennessee ties would be a victim, said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project.

“Now we know that someone that many people loved and cared about in Middle Tennessee is one of those who is lost,” Sanders said.

As word of the massacre spread on Sunday, family friend Samuel Gonzalez said he tried to reach out and find out whether the 20-year-old was all right.

“Next thing I knew, he was the third name on the list (of victims),” Gonzalez said.

While friends said Ocasio-Capo's family left for Orlando on Monday, those friends remembered him during the ceremony in La Vergne. Candles were lit, songs were sung, and a rainbow-colored sign was placed outside the school where others stood after the vigil.

The young man was remembered for his passions for dancing and acting and an optimism his friends said never waned.

Behind that upbeat nature was a desire to be there for the people he cared about, said Paola Melo, who graduated with Ocasio-Capo in 2015.

“He was just a friend,” Melo said through a translator. “He always made sure everyone was OK.”

The Associated Press reported that Ocasio-Capo worked at a Starbucks in Kissimmee, Fla., after graduating from La Vergne High.

His sister, Belinette Ocasio-Capo, said he had an audition for a play scheduled for Tuesday.

"He was one of the most amazing dancers," she told the AP. "He would always call me and say, 'I'm going to be the next Hollywood star.' He really did want to make it and be known.

"Now his name ended up being all around the world, like he wanted — just not this way."

A GoFundMe account has been established to raise money for Ocasio-Capo's funeral expenses.

Flags in La Vergne will be flown at half-staff through Thursday in memory of Ocasio-Capo and the other victims of the Orlando shooting, said La Vergne Mayor Dennis Waldron.

"We are shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo of La Vergne," Waldron said in a written statement. "Our hearts mourn with the families of all the victims as well as the community of Orlando."

All 49 victims in Orlando have been identified, according to USA TODAY. Next of kin of each person also have been notified.

Twenty-nine people remained hospitalized Monday morning, five of them in "grave" condition, Orlando Health said.

The Associated Press and USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Reach Brian Wilson at 615-278-5165 and on Twitter @brianwilson17.

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