ORLANDO, Fla. — Officer Adam Gruler, who was the first officer to respond to the Pulse Nightclub shooting, will be the honored guest of Rep. Val Demings at the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Gruler was the only officer working security at Pulse during the start of the deadly attack on June 12, 2016, that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others.
[ Read: Community split on whether to tear down Pulse Nightclub for memorial, survey says ]
Since the Pulse attack, Gruler has spent time with his wife, Jaimi, and their nine children. Three of which were recently adopted.
"I'm honored to be joined by Adam and Jaimi at this year's State of the Union address,” Demings said. “As Officer Gruler's former Chief at the Orlando Police Department, I am deeply proud of the courage he showed from the first moments of what would become the worst mass shooting in American history.”
Pulse was the worst mass shooting in the U.S. history until the Las Vegas shooting last year.
[ Read: Florida couple find Scottish children's message in a bottle from 1980s ]
“We believe that our government can and should come together to work in unison for every American, no matter who they are or where they come from,” said Adam and Jaimi Gruler in a joint statement. “We're proud to represent our community at this year's speech, and hope that our leaders will remember that our government is a public trust and that their job is to serve every American."
Before spending 17 years with the Orlando Police Department, Gruler served for five years as a military policeman with the U.S. Army.