Jacksonville man killed in Orlando mass shooting hours after graduating

One of the 49 victims in the Orlando mass shooting has been identified by authorities as a man from Jacksonville.

Darryl Roman Burt II was at his graduation ceremony in Orlando on Saturday, hours before a gunman opened fire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

Burt had just completed his masters at DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management.

Burt’s coworkers comforted one another inside Keiser University Jacksonville campus’s front office Monday morning, after learning he did not make it out of Pulse nightclub alive.

“I’m going to miss his colorful bow ties. I’m going to miss him very much,” said Keiser University Jacksonville Campus President Lisamarie Winslow.

Winslow said she called Burt’s father in Indiana on Monday morning to express her condolences and offer her support.

She said his coworkers can’t bear to open the door to his office.

“We’re just saddened and in shock, quite frankly, not really knowing what to do,” said Winslow. “We’ve got grief counselors and we’re handling this as best as possible. There’s no script for it.”

As a financial aid officer at Keiser, Burt worked with students who were either on active duty in the military, or were military veterans.

Winslow said it was Burt’s job to make sure those students could spend more time focusing on their education and less time worrying about how to pay for it.

And he did it with joy.

“Full of a lot of energy. Like I said, very professional. Private, but very professional. Always had a smile on his face. And just a good guy. Young, very young,” said Winslow.

Gone at 29 years old, Burt worked his way up since moving to Jacksonville about four years ago.

His LinkedIn profile shows he was a district manager at McDonald’s before working at Keiser.

Burt was an active member of the Jacksonville Jaycees. The group posted on Facebook that it plans to have a moment of silence at its meeting on Monday night and brainstorm for a fundraiser to benefit his family.

Burt leaves behind a roommate in downtown Jacksonville. A woman at the apartment building’s front desk said his roommate is not ready to talk.

“It’s the community as a whole that’s grieving and going through this, dealing with the shock and the aftermath,” said Winslow.

Another man from Jacksonville was injured during the shooting. Rodney Sumter Jr., who was a bartender at the nightclub, was shot multiple times. He underwent surgery Monday morning, according to family.

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