Florida

Another Night of Drinking and Dancing, Until the Shots Began

Residents of the condos next door to Pulse first heard the shooting about 2:03 a.m.

Jon Alamo was ready for a good time.

The 22-year-old clothing store sales clerk arrived at Pulse in Orlando at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, clad all in blue from his button-down shirt adorned with palm trees to his loafers.

"It was definitely going to be an awesome night," he said.

Like young people in clubs the world over, Alamo met up with some friends, and then some more friends. He danced in Pulse's main room, where people swayed to the beat of salsa music. Then Alamo drifted into the club's two other rooms, which grooved to more of a hip-hop vibe. He remembers hearing Rihanna's "Work," one of his favorite songs, and grinding to it on the dance floor.

The ex-wife of Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen condemned the mass shooting and said her former husband was “disturbed.”

It was supposed to be just a night of dancing and drinking, of looking good and gleefully partying into the early morning hours. It was Latin night at Pulse, one of Orlando's top gay venues, and two drag performers were scheduled to perform, one of them a big draw for appearing on a season of the TV show "RuPaul's Drag Race."

"I was in the zone," Alamo recalled. "I wasn't even paying attention — just dancing."

About three and a half hours after he arrived, the gunshots began. And the first of the 49 victims began to die.

Residents of the Delaney Court condos next door to Pulse first heard the shooting about 2:03 a.m. Marlon Massey was watching the movie "Creed" when he heard "pop, pop, pop!" He checked his phone for the time: The shots went on until 2:05 a.m.

A uniformed Orlando police officer working at the club off-duty had heard gunshots himself and spotted Omar Mateen outside the club. He fired his gun at the 29-year-old security guard from Fort Pierce, Florida, and two other officers quickly joined in. Mateen was not armed lightly: Police said he had an AR-15 assault-type rifle, a handgun and an explosive device.

Undeterred, he re-entered the club.

Inside, those on the dance floor weren't sure if what they heard was just part of the DJ's set.

"Everyone was getting on the floor. ... I thought it was just part of the music, until I saw fire coming out of his gun," patron Rose Feba explained to the Orlando Sentinel.

Mina Justice was sound asleep when she received the first text from her son, Eddie Justice, who was in the club.

"Mommy I love you," the first message said. It was 2:06 a.m.

"In club they shooting."

It was around this time that Alamo wandered back into the main room.

"He was holding a big weapon," Alamo said. "He had a white shirt and he was holding the weapon ... you ever seen how Marine guys hold big weapons, shooting from left to right? That's how he was shooting at people."

Alamo dashed toward the back of one of the smaller dance rooms, and said people then rushed to an area where two bouncers had knocked down a wooden fence to create an escape route.

"My first thought was, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die," Alamo said, his voice very quiet. "I was praying to God that I would live to see another day. I couldn't believe this was happening."

At 2:09 a.m., Pulse posted a chilling, hurried message on its Facebook page: "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."

AFP/Getty Images
Nicole Edwards and her wife Kellie Edwards observe a moment of silence during a vigil outside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for the mass shooting victims at the Pulse nightclub June 13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
Getty Images
People hold candles during an evening memorial service for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shootings, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, June 13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. The shooting at Pulse Nightclub, which killed 49 people and injured 53, is the worst mass-shooting event in American history.
AP
Demetrice Naulings cries while recalling how he survived the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub that claimed the life of his friend Eddie Justice, June 14, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. "I'm not going to get a chance to get another friend like," said Naulings. "Eddie was my angel."
AP
Angel Colon, a victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting, is kissed by his sister while attending a news conference at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, June 14, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
LA Times via Getty Images
Orlando, second from right, and his family attend a vigil and church service held at Joy Metropolitan Community Church near the Pulse nightclub. Orlando, who declined to give his last name, was at Pulse, trapped for three hours in a bathroom.
AP
David Rivera holds a rainbow flag at the site of a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting, June 12, 2016, in Atlanta. The vigil was organized by members of the city's large LGBT community.
Getty Images
A man attends a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, at Newtown Neighbourhood Centre on June 13, 2016, in Sydney, Australia.
AP
Family members wait for word from police after arriving down the street from a shooting involving multiple fatalities at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida,, June 12, 2016.
AP
Bomb disposal officers check for bombs at an apartment complex possibly linked to the fatal shootings at an Orlando nightclub, June 12, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Florida.
AP
Angel Mendez, standing outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center, holds up a cell phone photo trying to get information about his brother Jean C. Mendez that was at the Pulse Nightclub where a shooting involving multiple fatalities occurred, June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
AP
A police officer stands guard outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center hospital after a fatal shooting at a nearby Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP
An injured man is escorted out of the Pulse nightclub after a shooting rampage, June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
NBC6.com
Donors lineup to donate blood following a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub.
AP
People wait outside the emergency entrance of the Orlando Regional Medical Center hospital after a shooting involving multiple fatalities at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP, File
Emergency personnel wait with stretchers at the emergency entrance to Orlando Regional Medical Center hospital for the arrival of patients from the scene of a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP
Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the LGBT Center of Central Florida, center, is comforted by Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, right, after a shooting involving multiple fatalities at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AFP/Getty Images
President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement on the mass shooting at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, DC on June 12, 2016.
AP
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, second from right, and Orlando Police Chief John Mina arrive to a news conference after a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP
Jermaine Towns, left, and Brandon Shuford wait down the street from a multiple shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016. Towns said his brother was in the club at the time.
Getty Images
Orlando police officers are seen outside of Pulse nightclub after a fatal shooting and hostage situation on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
AP
FBI assistant special agent in charge Ron Hopper, center, answers questions from members of the media after a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016. Listening are Orlando Police Chief John Mina, left, and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.
AP
An Orange County Sheriff's Department SWAT member arrives to the scene of a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Sunday, June 12, 2016.
Getty Images
Members of the Orlando City Fire Rescue seen around Pulse nightclub after a fatal shooting and hostage situation on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
Getty Images
ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 12: FBI agents investigate near the damaged rear wall of the Pulse Nightclub where Omar Mateen allegedly killed at least 50 people on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The mass shooting killed at least 50 people and injuring 53 others in what is the deadliest mass shooting in the countryu00d5s history. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
AP
Bystanders wait down the street from a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, June 12, 2016.
AP
Brandon Shuford, left, waits down the street from the scene of a shooting involving multiple fatalities at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, June 12, 2016.

Brand White and her cousin were on the dance floor in the main room when White's cousin yelled to her, "B, it's a guy with a bomb!" Before she knew it, White was hit in the shoulder.

"All of a sudden it just started like a rolling thunder, loud and everything went black," White wrote in a Facebook message to an Associated Press reporter from her hospital room Sunday. "I think I was trampled."

She didn't recall leaving the club, but she remembered the state she was in: "Covered head to toe in blood."

"I remember screaming and mass chaos," she wrote. "There were hundreds of people there."

AFP/Getty Images
Nicole Edwards and her wife Kellie Edwards observe a moment of silence during a vigil outside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for the mass shooting victims at the Pulse nightclub June 13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
Getty Images
People hold candles during an evening memorial service for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shootings, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, June 13, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. The shooting at Pulse Nightclub, which killed 49 people and injured 53, is the worst mass-shooting event in American history.
AP
Demetrice Naulings cries while recalling how he survived the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub that claimed the life of his friend Eddie Justice, June 14, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. "I'm not going to get a chance to get another friend like," said Naulings. "Eddie was my angel."
AP
Angel Colon, a victim of the Pulse nightclub shooting, is kissed by his sister while attending a news conference at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, June 14, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
LA Times via Getty Images
Orlando, second from right, and his family attend a vigil and church service held at Joy Metropolitan Community Church near the Pulse nightclub. Orlando, who declined to give his last name, was at Pulse, trapped for three hours in a bathroom.
AP
David Rivera holds a rainbow flag at the site of a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting, June 12, 2016, in Atlanta. The vigil was organized by members of the city's large LGBT community.
Getty Images
A man attends a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, at Newtown Neighbourhood Centre on June 13, 2016, in Sydney, Australia.
AP
Family members wait for word from police after arriving down the street from a shooting involving multiple fatalities at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida,, June 12, 2016.
AP
Bomb disposal officers check for bombs at an apartment complex possibly linked to the fatal shootings at an Orlando nightclub, June 12, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Florida.
AP
Angel Mendez, standing outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center, holds up a cell phone photo trying to get information about his brother Jean C. Mendez that was at the Pulse Nightclub where a shooting involving multiple fatalities occurred, June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
AP
A police officer stands guard outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center hospital after a fatal shooting at a nearby Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP
An injured man is escorted out of the Pulse nightclub after a shooting rampage, June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
NBC6.com
Donors lineup to donate blood following a mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub.
AP
People wait outside the emergency entrance of the Orlando Regional Medical Center hospital after a shooting involving multiple fatalities at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP, File
Emergency personnel wait with stretchers at the emergency entrance to Orlando Regional Medical Center hospital for the arrival of patients from the scene of a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP
Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the LGBT Center of Central Florida, center, is comforted by Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, right, after a shooting involving multiple fatalities at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AFP/Getty Images
President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement on the mass shooting at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, DC on June 12, 2016.
AP
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, second from right, and Orlando Police Chief John Mina arrive to a news conference after a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016.
AP
Jermaine Towns, left, and Brandon Shuford wait down the street from a multiple shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016. Towns said his brother was in the club at the time.
Getty Images
Orlando police officers are seen outside of Pulse nightclub after a fatal shooting and hostage situation on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
AP
FBI assistant special agent in charge Ron Hopper, center, answers questions from members of the media after a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, June 12, 2016. Listening are Orlando Police Chief John Mina, left, and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.
AP
An Orange County Sheriff's Department SWAT member arrives to the scene of a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Sunday, June 12, 2016.
Getty Images
Members of the Orlando City Fire Rescue seen around Pulse nightclub after a fatal shooting and hostage situation on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida.
Getty Images
ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 12: FBI agents investigate near the damaged rear wall of the Pulse Nightclub where Omar Mateen allegedly killed at least 50 people on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The mass shooting killed at least 50 people and injuring 53 others in what is the deadliest mass shooting in the countryu00d5s history. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
AP
Bystanders wait down the street from a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, June 12, 2016.
AP
Brandon Shuford, left, waits down the street from the scene of a shooting involving multiple fatalities at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, June 12, 2016.

She made it to the hospital, where she got a blood transfusion. As Sunday wore on, her cousin remained missing.

Brett Rigas and his partner also were dancing in the main room when they heard the crack of gunfire. "About 70 bullets," Rigas described in a terse Facebook message.

He was shot in the arm and a man next to him was struck in the leg before police entered the room.

"I was behind the bar with four other people under the well. They called out to us and had us run out," he said.

President Barack Obama spoke about the deadly shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, calling Pulse more than a night club, but “a place of solidarity, empowerment, where people have come together, to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.”

Rigas saw dead bodies as he barreled out of the club. In the rush to escape, he became separated from his partner, who remained unaccounted for.

Three patrons, including a performer, ran to the nearby home of club regular David "Brock" Cornelius. Cornelius had gone to a different bar Saturday night and wasn't yet home, but he texted them his garage code and they hid in his house.

Police said a dozen or so other patrons took cover in a restroom.

At 2:39 a.m., Eddie Justice texted his mother from the bathroom, pleading for her to call police:

"Call them mommy

Now."

He's coming

I'm gonna die."

Justice asked her son if anyone was hurt and which bathroom he was in.

"Lots. Yes," he responded at 2:42 a.m.

The last text she received from Eddie was at 2:50 a.m. His name was later added to the city's list of those killed in the attack.

"All I heard was gunfire after gunfire," Brandon Wolf, who was in a restroom hiding, told the Sentinel. "Eventually, I thought you were supposed to run out of ammunition. But it just kept going and going," he said.

What happened in the three hours after the shooting broke out and the gunman was killed was not immediately clear.

As people lay dying in the club, the shooting developed "into a hostage situation," Orlando Police Chief John Mina said.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said officers initially mistakenly thought the gunman had strapped explosives to some of his victims after a bomb robot sent back images of a battery part next to a body. That held paramedics up from entering the club until it was determined the part had fallen out of an exit sign or smoke detector, the mayor said.

The robot was sent in after SWAT team members used explosive charges and an armored vehicle to knock down a wall in an effort to access the club.

About 5 a.m., a decision was made to rescue the remaining club-goers, who authorities said likely were in one of the smaller dance rooms, the Adonis Room. Law enforcement officers used two explosive devices to try to distract the killer and then 11 officers stormed the club and exchanged gunfire with Mateen.

The explosives jolted some Pulse neighbors awake, including Dorian Ackerman, 28, who noted that it was just after 5 a.m.

"I heard a woman screaming," he said. "It was really terrifying."

The gunman started firing, hitting an officer who was saved by protective armor.

"That's when we took him down," the mayor said.

Copyright The Associated Press
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