Original subtitles

(suspenseful music)

- That night, me, my cousin Akyra Murray,

and my friend Patience Carter, we were at the house

and we were just debating if we wanted to go out,

and we was trying to find places that was age appropriate,

because at the time, I was only 20.

(suspenseful music)

- Wanted to experience something new altogether.

We looked up some clubs, and we saw Pulse

was one of the options.

We loved the pictures-

- [Tiara] We didn’t know it was a gay club at first.

We didn’t care.

We’re all getting dressed.

We’re having fun.

We’re running through the house acting

like fools at 11:30 at night.

- It was my first night going to the Pulse nightclub.

Got there, it was 11:07, so I’ll never forget it,

’cause I was like, "Seven minutes?

"It’s $10. |

"I’ll spend that on a drink. |

"Come on. "No one’s behind me." |

"Please, let me in." |

But no, it was $10 to get in.

- It was just the friendliest people ever.

That was the overall atmosphere of Pulse when we were there.

- Actually, a girl, Amanda, she gave Patience her plus one,

so Patience got in free, but me and my cousin had to pay.

And we was like (gasps).

We’re having fun.

So we go in there and we spent, pretty much,

the majority of our night with her.

(energetic electronic music)

- It started out like a regular Saturday,

and actually, it was slow, so I was like,

"Eh, I’m gonna leave early." |

And then, all my friends started showing up,

so that’s when I was like, "Oh, I’ll stay.

"I’ll stay. I’ll stay."

Everyone talked me into it and I stayed.

(energetic electronic music)

- They were dancing on a bar, on the poles on a stage,

and there was one empty pole, and my cousin actually jumped

on it and started dancing.

Everybody was having a ball.

They loved us.

We loved them.

We had the time of our lives.

(energetic electronic music)

- I told myself, I’m like, "Wow, I came to Orlando

"to settle roots," because I’d been all

over the country traveling.

I really wanted Orlando to be my home.

I told my dad,

"Hey, I’m gonna find that community you wanted.

"It’s gonna happen here.

"It’s gonna happen."

(foreboding music)

- Everyone was drunk at around 1:50, 1:55, 2:00 AM.

Everyone was going home, Ubering home,

taking a Lyft home, taxi, something.

They’re all drunk.

(foreboding music)

- I looked at the time.

It was 1:58.

I saw that it was almost time for us to go.

- I was gonna get an Uber back, so that way,

we ain’t gotta bother my mom and them,

’cause I know they’re tired.

Right when I ordered it, we hear the gunshots.

(foreboding music)

(rifle rapidly banging)

(rifle rapidly banging)

- And the first few you think were the actual music,

’cause I was against the wall.

And I’ll never forget, I could feel the vibrations

in my feet and in my back.

And I felt guilty for a long time, because I danced to it.

- Because it’s three or four different DJs in this building

that you would think it was a part of one of the songs,

so people kept partying.

They didn’t pay it no mind.

And then the shots got louder, and then they kept going,

and you’d just hear ’em.

They were repetitive.

- I was getting my last drink. |

It was last call. |

My friend wanted to use the restroom, so I said no problem.

I got my drink, and we were walking to the back of the club.

As we entered a restroom, we heard this popping sound,

a pow, pow, pow,

and I looked up in the air, (rifle rapidly banging)

and I’m like, "That didn’t sound right."

My friend said, "Oh, that’s the music effect."

And I said, "No, no.

"I know my DJs’ sound effects.

"It usually has a pow, pow, pow, pow,

but with an air horn at the end."

So then a few seconds,

I heard it again, (rifle rapidly banging)

another pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.

And I said, "That don’t sound right."

I said, "We’re not going out there."

- I’m like, "Oh, it’s probably just something gang related

or something small, but then we blaring

(rapidly clicks tongue) nonstop, nonstop, nonstop.

(rifle rapidly banging) (crowd screaming)

And that’s when we looked at each other

like this isn’t normal, and fear set in everyone,

and then a swarm of people started coming

in from the main stage room.

(crowd screaming) (rifle rapidly banging)

- While I was running, I heard |

at least 50 shots the first time.

And it wasn’t spaced-out shots.

It was continuous shots.

(crowd screaming)

I thought that it was somebody playing a prank,

as in throwing fireworks on the floor.

Next thing I know, I was on the floor

and had somebody on top of me.

- Since I have past law enforcement experience,

I managed to decide to sit on top of the toilet bowl,

actually lay on it, have my feet up against the stall door.

If the gunman did come in, he would come in

and not see our feet underneath.

- I ended up running for cover in the men’s bathroom

in the handicapped stall.

(people clamoring)

Ended up getting into the stall last,

but I kind of pushed everybody out my way

and made it all the way to the very far corner of the stall.

I definitely have regrets, like maneuvering

through all those people just to get myself safe.

I think about it all the time.

- I remember crawling past the bathroom,

and I saw inside the bathroom, and I knew

that that’s not where I had to go,

because in a horror movie, you don’t go in the house.

You don’t stay in the house.

You don’t run upstairs.

You don’t go in the basement.

You leave.

You can hear the screaming,

and you can hear the gunfire still going off.

And at this point, you’re just like, there’s no way

that that’s going on right now.

Is this real?

(rifle rapidly banging) (people screaming)

- I dropped to the floor

and I just started scooting backwards.

I ended up getting outside, |

so I felt the grass underneath my hands.

And Akyra ran towards me, and she was over top of me now.

I looked up at her and I asked her where Tiara was,

and she said Tiara’s still inside.

- When the shots kept going, I just froze.

It was an instant freeze. |

It’s almost like the movies, when everything is moving

in slow motion and you’re just watching everything happen.

That’s what was going on. |

- Yeah. |

When I see Akyra, I see Tiara’s not with her,

so I’m just like, "Well," instantly like, "where is she?"

"She’s inside."

"Okay, we gotta go get her."

When we get back inside, we see Tiara squatting by the bar.

She rises up with us now, so she’s standing with us.

We see people running into bathroom,

mass amounts of people running

and ducking into the bathroom,

so we run into the bathroom after those people.

- When I came back to my senses, that instant,

I just ran backwards.

I turned around and ran instead of running,

’cause the exit was right there.

Instead of just running outside,

we just turned around and ran,

and we end up running into a bathroom.

(suspenseful music)

- We didn’t know what this was all about.

Who is this person?

Is he mad that he caught a lover with another lover

or he got kicked out of the nightclub?

We were in the blind of what was this all about.

I tried to dial 911, but the lines were busy,

as if I didn’t have signal or there were

just already people flooding the lines busy with calls,

so it didn’t go through.

- [Caller] Hello? |

- [Ernesta] Hi, this is Ernesta |

with the Orlando Police Department.

I record of a line, your phone, dialing 911.

Is everything okay? |

- [Caller] No, no, no, no.

Please come to Pulse, P-U-L-S-E.

And he’s shooting at us.

Everybody is bleeding everywhere.

- [Ernesta] It’s okay.

We’re gonna get some help for you.

Can you tell me anything that they’re wearing?

- [Caller] No, he’s in the bathroom.

- [Ernesta] He’s in there with you?

Just stay on the phone.

Let me get someone on.

- When you hear him say, "Damn, my gun’s jammed,"

I looked at my cousin.

I looked at Patience, and Patience’s like,

"We can bum rush him," and that was the instinct.

Yeah, I’m gonna jump on him.

- We could just bum rush him.

That’s what the thought was,

and then nobody else was with that idea.

Everybody was just stunned, in shock,

and it just didn’t happen.

- The shooter done came in,

and he just started opening fire in there.

(people screaming) (rifle rapidly banging)

I got hit.

I know Patience was definitely hit.

My cousin was definitely hit.

- I didn’t see Akyra get shot,

but after he sprayed the bathroom with bullets,

as the night just kept going on and on,

I just heard her less and less.

At first, I heard her the most.

She just kept saying, "I don’t wanna die.

"I don’t wanna die."

And then she was saying, "My vision is getting blurry,"

and stuff like that.

And then, I didn’t hear her no more.

- I always worked the graveyard shift.

I worked from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM,

and that was my weekend on. |

So we started at 6:00 PM, got off 6:00 AM,

but unfortunately, that day didn’t end at 6:00 AM for me.

I don’t think it’s ever ended for me.

When I arrived on scene on the corner of Orange and Kaley,

I heard gunshots from outside from his assault rifle,

immediately ran inside. |

- [Officer] Come on, come, come on.

Come on, come on, come on.

Hands up. Hands up.

Keep your hands up.

Come on.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

Come on this way, this way, this way.

- [Officer] Keep your hands up.

Out into the street.

Keep your hands up.

- [Officer] Injured, any injured?

- [Officer] Anybody injured?

Anybody injured? Anybody injured?

Anybody injured?

- Keep walking. - Anybody injured?

- [Officer] Keep walking.

- [Officer] Anybody injured?

- [Officer] Is anyone injured?

Keep walking.

(people chattering)

- When I finally went through all that crowd

of people running out, when I finally made myself inside,

there were just bodies.

I started yelling to these people, "Get up.

"Get up. Get up.

"The police are here," and it took a minute

or so to realize that these people were not getting up.

But the few that made effort to move,

those were the ones we were able to help out.

I started pulling an individual out,

when we heard (mimics gunshots). |

And that’s when I fell, and I had the person on top of me,

and just hearing this individual barely breathing,

and we couldn’t move, because at that point in time,

we had no idea if he was shooting at us,

if he was shooting at other people elsewhere.

We didn’t know if he can see us,

and he was shooting at us because he saw us trying

to save people, so we just took cover.

We took cover for a while,

until we made sure there was no more shooting.

(suspenseful music)

- When I went outside, I ran out through the patio.

Once I’m in the patio, I noticed that my husband

and my friends weren’t there, |

and I was just looking around for them.

My first instinct was to go back inside.

- I feel something hit me, and it was something hot,

so I just looked under my shirt and I saw it was a gunshot.

And I was looking around where I can hide.

There was storage behind the bar, so I just went there.

- Mm-hmm. |

- Yeah. |

- It was seconds.

I just looked around real quick,

and then I just went back inside.

- I was thinking of my husband,

’cause he was with me when everything had start.

He was beside me.

I was feeling very guilty because I left him behind.

(rifle rapidly banging) (people screaming)

- He’s still shooting at people,

so that’s when I just ran back outside.

- I walked towards the street, |

and a lot of people were telling me how,

"Have you been shot," since I had blood on me,

but I didn’t notice at the time.

And they were telling me, "What happened?

"What happened?

"Have you been shot? Have you been shot?"

And I just kept on walking towards the fire station,

and that’s when the cops, they just tried to calm me down.

- Yes. |

This is what I tell my therapist,

because it is what it is.

I thought I’m gonna die, and I know what you feel

when you’re gonna die.

I know exactly the feeling.

- I stood by the corner to make sure

that I saw my husband if he got out.

My husband was the second group that got out,

and I think that was the last one.

And from there, when I saw my husband coming out,

I got super happy that I saw him.

I ran towards him, and then all the cops started coming

up to us and telling us, "You can’t be next to him.

"You can’t be next to him."

And then they separated me, and he told me that he was fine,

but I saw he was shot.

I was comfortable that he told me he was okay.

I stuck to my gut, and I stayed calm,

and I told myself that he was gonna be okay.

(suspenseful music)

- We went in the men’s side of the stalls.

Someone came running in and slide right under.

And we were trying to get him to come under,

and he was begging, "Please, please, please pull me under.

"Pull me under.

"I don’t wanna die."

And the guy came in.

(rifle rapidly banging)

And that’s when I received shrapnel damage

on my foot and on my right leg. |

And I just started seeing blood,

and that’s when it really became real.

He just killed someone in front of me.

- He kind of just laughed and then shot through the door.

(rifle rapidly banging) |

It was just loud, loud, loud, bang, bang, bang.

And you could see smoke just flying through the air,

and you could smell it. |

I just remember being in the very far corner

and seeing everybody in front of me just drop one by one

like flies, just everybody dropping to the floor.

- I just closed my eyes, and I crawled

into a fetal position, and I braced myself.

- I just remember thinking that this isn’t real.

I’m gonna wake from a bad dream, and then eventually,

reality started to kick in.

I had sharp pains in my stomach.

I started feeling the blood rushing down my leg,

and I realized this is really happening

and I might not make it out.

- There was a pause in the gunfire.

I’m like, okay, maybe it’s over. |

I’ll make my way back to see what’s going on,

and that’s when I see people outside

that are already hurt and wounded,

and other people helping other people.

At this time, all the ambulance had rushed in.

There was a truck that came

and started throwing the plastic boards,

tossing ’em into the parking lot and saying,

"Get the people on ’em.

"Get ’em on ’em. Get ’em on ’em."

Being in the parking lot with them, we didn’t have gloves,

and we’re asking paramedics, "Can we have some gloves?"

And they said no, that they didn’t have enough

to share with us.

So we’re in there feeling the warmth of their blood,

feeling their chillness of their skin,

not knowing if they’re gonna perish or not perish.

We just know that we have to be in that sanctuary of hope.

(door clanking) (eerie music)

- In less than 10 minutes, the gunman came back.

He approached the handicapped stall.

He was telling them, "Please do not text."

so I’m saying to myself, this man has the audacity

that comes into this club shooting, and you wanna walk

back in and politely, in a nice, soft-tone voice,

"Please do not text"?

I’m still trying to figure out what was this man all about?

But he got on the phone quickly.

I think he had called the news media and trying

to let them know, to get his message across.

- [Dispatcher] Emergency 911.

This is (audio becomes muffled).

May I record it?

(shooter speaking in foreign language)

What? |

(shooter speaking in foreign language)

- When we heard that, we’re like, oh, my God.

Is this really what we’re hearing?

They were still trying to ask him questions,

but he got upset.

He hung up the phone.

Then, he heard the people, all their phones going off

or whatever as if they were texting,

and he screamed at ’em,

"Didn’t I say no texting, no texting?

"I want everybody to hand their phones over.

"Hand their phones over."

(phones clattering)

So I’m still hidden in there.

I decided to keep my phone because, like I said,

he’s still unaware that I was sitting and hidden

on top of the toilet bowl.

(phone ringing)

- [Shooter] Hello.

- [Police Officer] Hi there. This is Orlando Police.

Who am I speaking with, please? |

- [Shooter] They need to stop the US airstrikes.

- When he said he had bombs to light up a city block,

at that point, I started making peace with God

and peace with myself, that if this is the way

that we’re gonna go, at least I’m with two people

that I really care about and I love to death.

(woeful music)

- It was about 2:00 AM. |

I was kind of falling asleep to be honest with you.

I had all my radios on in the house, as I usually do,

and the first call came out at around 2:02, 2:03,

about an active shooter inside the club Pulse.

Within 30 seconds to a minute,

the radios started going pretty crazy.

It took me about 15 minutes to get there.

Once I did, what I saw was just chaos, and carnage,

and a lot of crying.

I’ve never seen so many people injured

in one place at one time.

There were so many injured

that they didn’t have enough ambulances.

I positioned myself directly across the street from Pulse.

Never saw the shooter.

It was so weird.

Even though it was so loud, at the same time,

it was kind of eerie.

It was quiet in a way, but you still heard cell phones

and sirens, the sound of people crying,

and cell phones going, and cops yelling

at each other to try to communicate.

(woeful music)

- [Dispatcher] (audio muffled) The officers

who are still active in the area.

- We got a door up top with a sheet.

- [Dispatcher] All right.

I’m gonna see if we can get that path for OPD

and Metro (audio muffled) establish a wide perimeter

to see if we can contain

if the shooter’s still active and on the move.

[Officer] Let FP know they’re gonna need a lot of people.

- These individuals just lying on the floor,

that is an image that is embedded in my head.

It’s like a tattoo in my head.

- [Officer] Keep on into the hallway.

- [Officer] All right. |

- [Dispatcher] How far is the truck?

- There was a long time |

where I didn’t have nothing else to look at.

I would look at a door, but then I would look back down

at the bodies and hoping that somebody would move again,

so we can maybe give ’em a fighting chance,

but for hours, and hours, and hours, that was my view,

just looking at the doors and looking at the bodies,

looking at the doors and looking at the bodies.

(cell phone ringing)

- [Officer] Well, you can’t retrieve my truck

until they get one.

- When you finally realize it’s gunfire,

and you have to run out that

same way the gunfire’s coming in, you’re not going to.

You’re gonna retreat.

You’re heading another way

and thinking you’re gonna hide in a bathroom.

That might’ve been the best bet for them.

That’s what they were probably thinking,

because at that point in time,

you don’t know what’s going on.

You don’t know if that was shooting or not,

and then you hear people yelling and screaming.

First thing you do is maybe you grab your partner

or you’re just gonna start running and you saw a door,

and that’s the first door you went into,

and sure enough it was a bathroom, and now you’re trapped.

But did they think about that?

No, they were just trying to run to save their lives.

- Where the fuck is this coming from?

(radio muffling)

Give us your hands.

Orlando police.

Is there anyone else with you behind the bar?

Get down, get down, get down.

Get down now!

On the ground.

Get down.

Hey, watch that door to the right of you.

- Somebody get on my right.

- I got your right.

- Get down.

Get the fuck on my right.

- Give me some more on this right side.

- There was a girl there holding pressure to my wounds.

Her name was V.

She pretty much saved my life that night.

She kept me awake and alert.

She wouldn’t let me close my eyes.

And I just remember choking or throwing up blood

because of where I was shot.

- I called my mom.

My phone was about to die.

Called my mom, and I was only able to get out, "Mom, mom."

And I phone hung up ’cause he was coming in,

so I freaked out.

- When he came back the second time,

he pretty much just started laughing again,

and then reached over the stall with a handgun.

- And we just all kind of, just again, fetal position.

And that’s when I got hit on my right side.

It was just heat all over my body, all over my body,

and I just, I feel like I might have fainted,

but I don’t really remember.

I just know I closed my eyes and I woke up really quick,

and he was no longer in the bathroom.

(suspenseful music)

The sergeant and lieutenant told us, "Okay,

"let’s step back now."

So we made our way from inside

to just outside into the parking lot.

We were all told to come out, because, again,

of the bombs that were there,

the alleged bombs that were there.

- All of a sudden, there was a huge explosion

that rocked the bathroom, literally rocked the bathroom.

(intense booming) (people screaming)

(suspenseful music)

- You can hear him shooting, and it was maybe two

or three shots, and then it was SWAT just unloading.

(rifles rapidly banging)

I lifted up my phone in case any stray bullets

of the cops or him wouldn’t ricochet off the walls

and hit me in the head.

- My cousin, I had her on my lap.

The little bit of strength I had in my arm,

I used to pull her on me and pick her head up

so the water wouldn’t run, ’cause when they blew it down,

the pipe was running still.

And then, I’m telling ’em, "Please take her.

"Just take her."

"No, we gotta take you first."

That’s what one of the rescue people said to me.

"We gotta take you first."

I’m like, "No, take her.

"She’s still breathing.

"I’m okay. She’s breathing."

They didn’t listen to me at all,

obviously, ’cause she died.

They left her in the club.

We found... |

- They left her in the club, yeah.

- Mm-hmm. |

- Because they don’t listen. |

I don’t know. I don’t know.

I can’t speak for them.

I really don’t, and every time I think about that,

I get real upset.

- I think the police, more than everybody,

were the most scared.

This is their first time coming in, seeing all this.

And they’re just like, "Raise your hands.

"Raise your hands."

They said, "Are there any other shooters in the bathroom?"

We’re like, "No."

- They dug me out.

They had to escort me to a pickup truck.

They put me there.

They brought another victim that was shot,

which I believe it was Tiara Parker,

and she was just about to really faint.

- They grabbed me by my arms and my legs

and carried me to the back of the black F-150.

And I just remember them asking for a phone number to call,

and I gave ’em my mom’s phone number,

the only one I can memorize.

And the wind hit me

and everything went black after that.

(woeful music)

(camera clicking)

(camera clicking)

- I got the call in the morning. |

It was the chief of staff, and he said,

"Are you sitting down?" |

And when the chief of staff of the city of Orlando asks you

if you’re sitting down, it’s never good news.

And I said, "What happened?"

And he goes, "You haven’t seen any of the news?"

I’m like, "No, no, I haven’t."

- Today, we’re dealing with something

that we never imagined and is unimaginable.

Since the last update, |

we have gotten better access to the building.

We have cleared the building, and it is with great sadness

that I share that we have not 20 but 50 casualties.

There are another 53 that are hospitalized.

- There was a press conference, and I think we heard

for the first time, 49. |

And you think, that’s not a number

for a downtown club shooting. |

That’s a number from a war.

Orlando, which was known for family vacations

and fun became synonymous

with the biggest mass killing in American history.

(camera clicking)

- It really did seem surreal, and I remember one

of the first thinks that I said was, "Oh, God.

"Please don’t let this be the largest mass shooting

in America," and it ended

up being the largest mass shooting in America.

(camera clicking)

- Our focus is going to be on identifying the victims.

The identification process may take some time,

so we ask for your patience,

because we want to be accurate.

Concerned family members can call the hotline, however,

and let them know that you have someone

that you are concerned about.

- I first got out there, and what really struck me was

that nobody was saying the word gay.

And I remember everybody else had left,

and they talked about how many people had been shot,

and I said, "Nobody said that they were gay.

"I can’t have this.

"It has to be said who they were and why they were shot."

(camera clicking)

- I just wanna say that we as a gay community,

gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community are a people |||||||||||

who love, and if you think that you’re going

to stab at the heart of us

by doing this horrible, violent act, you’re not,

because we are a resilient people, and we’re gonna show you,

in the face of this, that we’re gonna have people lined out

behind those blood banks.

We’re gonna show what the good heart of humanity is,

not the bad, horrible part of it is,

and you cannot get your message across by killing people.

You’re nothing but thugs and murderers,

and we will show you that we are a better community

and a better America than this.

Thank you.

They were from the LGBTQ community.

They were from the Hispanic community.

It was Latin Night.

There were many people of color there,

and even though I’ve gotten a lot of political pressure

from that since, I don’t care.

It’s the right thing to do.

It’s the right thing to talk about who they were

and what they dealt with.

Who else doesn’t have their family claim them,

their body, because they don’t agree with their lifestyle?

Nobody but the gay community.

(eerie music)

- It’s the greatest nightmare out of all this,

the notion that you are in a spot, maybe dying out,

maybe bleeding out, maybe your friend is passing,

and help is right there, maybe four feet away

on the other side of a concrete wall,

and it’s not coming for five minutes, 10 minutes,

an hour, two hours, three hours.

That’s the stuff nightmares are made of.

- I was like, "My God."

I said, "Did they forget about us?"

These are just normal human thoughts

that anybody would think,

and that’s what I was thinking,

’cause I know the cops are there, but when hearing them

on the other side, I hear voices.

I hear others answering others out there,

and it was in a calm mode.

Everything was quiet.

- I don’t understand why it took three hours.

Why couldn’t you go through the front door,

sneak your way in or work your way in,

knowing that you have the blueprints?

You know what you’re doing.

You guys are trained in stuff like this.

- I’m angry. |

And then, when you get to hear that they was not equipped

for nothing like this, it hurts. |

- Yes. |

Mm-hmm.

Gonna keep happening over, and over, and over.

- [Charlie] You said you used to work at Pulse?

- Mm-hmm. |

- [Charlie] What were you doing, exactly?

- I was a club promoter, and I also took photos

on the back patio, so I was a picture lady at first

when I first started, and then I |

eventually started doing my own parties

and being paid to promote the hip-hop parties.

- [Charlie] To the best of your knowledge,

was there cameras inside the Pulse?

- Yes, there definitely is cameras.

- [Charlie] Okay.

And one of the victims told me that video has

never been seen by anybody except, maybe, a chosen few.

- I’m sure. I’m sure.

- [Charlie] Do you think

that video would reveal anything important?

- I think that video would reveal a lot.

I know of a few people that have definitely come to me

and have reached out to different reporters

to try to get a story to be taken outside of Orlando,

because Orlando refuses to report on certain things.

There’s just certain things

that will never hit the media here.

- I’m mad that my best friend had to lay there and die.

Why didn’t they move in? |

That’s their job title is, to take a bullet, right?

- To give their... |

- Serve and protect. - Serve and protect.

You guys have armor. |

You have all the right tools and the success to do it,

but that’s the me being mad side.

But me being human, if I was put in that situation,

would I want to go in, or would I want to wait

and try to think about what we’re gonna do

because we’ve never been in a situation like this before,

and we don’t understand what to do?

(eerie music)

- I get that you probably wasn’t prepared.

But if you’re plan was to come busting

through the walls the way y’all did,

you put as risk regardless,

because this man was saying he had bombs.

And then, to find out that they were

in the building the whole time, y’all should’ve

just came in the bathroom.

(eerie music)

- On the morning of June 12th, the night of Pulse,

I arrived approximately anywhere

from 2:05 to 2:10 in the morning.

- [Charlie] Who’s life is more important,

yours or the civilians?

- Definitely the civilians, because that’s

why we took this oath.

To become a police officer, you have to understand

and grasp that concept that you’re going to be running

into danger when everybody’s running out.

- In your opinion, is three hours and 12 minutes too long

for police to finally take down a shooter?

- I can’t really say if that was enough time or not due

to the fact that we didn’t know what was happening.

We didn’t know who he was.

We didn’t know how many shooters.

We didn’t know where he was.

Did he sneak out with the rest of the people?

We didn’t know.

It wasn’t till later, when he heard the gunshots again,

that we knew he was still inside the building somewhere.

- Was there shooting throughout the morning?

You heard the shots from outside,

and then you run in through the patio.

You make your way inside.

And then, how long was it before you heard the next shots?

- I can’t recall. |

It might have been half hour. |

It might have been an hour. |

I just don’t recall, but it was some time

before the next set of (mimics gunfire).

And could have that been the time

where he was in the bathroom, and supposedly,

he shot people in the bathroom?

It might have been.

- [Charlie] So at that point, did officers go

towards the sound of the gunfire?

- That sound is echoing all over the place.

If they knew at that time that’s where he was at,

then if there were officers in that area,

I don’t really know.

- Okay, and then how much after that,

how long after that did you hear the next series of...

- There were no more shots after that.

- No more?

- No.

- [Charlie] So then, the police saying most of the people

that were shot in the first five minutes,

that’s accurate, you think?

- I believe so, ’cause the amount of people laying

on that floor, to this day, haunts me, and it just...

There were a lot of people there,

a lot of people laying on that floor instantly,

before I even walked in.

(eerie music)

- Why didn’t police follow him into the bathroom?

- I personally, ’cause my radio never worked.

I personally didn’t know he was in the bathroom.

I didn’t find out about this till much later.

- Law enforcement was taking out those that were injured

as fast as they could take them out.

They were checking pulses. |

They were bringing out the ones who still had a pulse.

The idea that people were just laying

in Pulse dying is not an accurate reflection

at all of what happened.

When the police responded, they negotiated with the gunman

and tried to resolve this issue,

believing that he had planted a bomb.

He was very clear about.

I think the correct protocol is to try

to save the lives that you can save

(camera clicking)

that are in the bathroom, knowing that some

of them may not be saved because they’ve already been shot,

but not risking the rest of them that were still alive.

- The problem was this man was trained enough in security

to know that that would slow the response,

because you’re not going to go

into a hostage situation with a bomb,

(camera clicking)

’cause then everybody could die.

(suspenseful music)

- Now, in 1999, the SWAT policy changed

because of Columbine, where you’re supposed to go in

and get the active shooter?

Why do you think they didn’t go in there,

into the bathroom, to get the shooter?

- Well, in my opinion, first responders were already there,

so the scene was already, per se, secured in a sense

that, okay, no one else is coming in

and no one else is coming out.

So now, did they know where he was at?

I don’t know.

I wish I can tell you.

Did they have an idea he was in the bathroom?

But even if they did, they pretty much have

to follow the rules of, okay, just because I came

in through one place, and I know an officer was there,

I still need to come in and search that whole, entire place.

- How many officers were inside the Pulse nightclub

when you went in there?

- It might have been maybe a handful, maybe 10, if that.

- And what were they doing exactly?

- They were guarding one entrance,

the main entrance that they came in through.

Myself and a few other officers came

in through the patio entrance,

and we were guarding that entrance,

so our only focus was that we can see were two doors,

one that was leading toward the other dance hall

and one door that led to the kitchen.

As more officers came in, then yes, those officers now moved

over to where that door was and that other entrance

to the other dance floor.

- So you never even saw the shooter going

between the bathrooms?

- No, I did not.

Never heard him on the phone or verbally.

And keep in mind, if he was where he said he was

in a bathroom and where I was, I was pretty much

on the front entrance of one of the dance floor,

and he was all the way toward the back

of the other restrooms.

- Where do you think this shooter entered?

- When I made entry through the patio door,

just hearing the casings on the floor as we stepped on them,

there were a lot of .223 rounds on the floor.

With all the casings that kind of led into the club,

that just kind of makes me believe

that he came in through the patio.

- How do you think he got those two weapons in?

- Keep in mind, Charlie, it’s dark.

It’s crowded. |

A lot of people are not in their right state of mind,

meaning that they’re sober. |

Maybe some are. Some weren’t. |

If you are gonna walk in with an assault rifle

and a handgun, seriously, who’s gonna stop you?

- So you think, maybe, he caught everyone off guard.

Maybe they’re tired.

- Definitely a perfect time to come in.

- Between you and others. |

- Maybe four or five.

Maybe six.

- Yeah. |

- Yeah. |

- Are you angry that it took the Orlando police SWAT

over three hours to take down the killer?

- Of course I’m angry, because I was a police officer myself

for over 10 years, 10 1/2 years.

This is an active shooter.

He’s killing people.

You have to put yourself, as a police officer,

if you don’t want that job, get another job.

But as a police officer, you have to put yourself

between the victim and the shooter

so that you can protect society.

You’re a protector.

You’re not a coward.

You protect people.

When the killer first went in the club,

he shot a lot of people up, went outside,

had a shootout in the parking lot.

Then, he ran back in the club, and that’s

when the cops went in there and started shooting

up innocent people who were probably trying

to run out of the club.

That’s what the police chief is saying,

that yeah, there are going to be some of the kids

in the club that got shot and killed by the police,

but it’s not gonna be the police officer’s fault.

It’s the killer’s fault.

- I can’t comment on that.

I don’t know.

That officer that’s out there.

He’s a human being.

That’s a moving target.

If we put a handgun in your hand,

and we tell you to hit this moving target.

You’ve got 10 shots.

How many times will you hit it?

It’s hard.

- Why are the police acting like they’re heroes

and they’ve done such a good job,

when there’s so much glaring incompetence.

It’s almost like they’re doing the opposite.

By saying how great they were, they’re getting the heat

off them for what really happened.

The medical examiner will verify that some died

from nonfatal wounds from bleeding to death.

(woeful music)

He was a perfect child.

He was perfect for me.

I was perfect for him.

That’s why I decided I was never going

to have any more kids.

I thought there’s no way I’m gonna have a kid

that’s gonna be better than Christopher.

(camera clicking)

Always wanting to move.

He couldn’t wait to roll over.

He’d get frustrated if he couldn’t roll himself over.

And then, when he could figure out how to roll over,

he couldn’t wait to crawl.

Then, he couldn’t wait to walk.

Then, he couldn’t wait to ride a bicycle.

Then, he couldn’t wait to get his license and drive.

He loved dancing.

He would go all over the state to all these different malls

that had the DDR setup in the mall.

(camera clicking)

He was a licensed mental health therapist.

He had his graduate degree in clinical psychology.

Christopher had dated various guys before Juan,

but Juan was the first guy that Christopher dated

since the Supreme Court, the equal marriage act.

When he met Juan,

I could see that was a different relationship,

’cause this was a guy now he would say,

"I think I might be able to marry Juan.

"This might be the guy for me."

And their relationship started growing

to where they had their own language,

the language of a couple, the language of a couple in love.

Juan worked at SunTrust Bank,

and he was in third year at UCF,

getting his undergraduate degree in financial planning.

They were dating for 14 months

(camera clicking)

when they were killed, but they were very much in love.

The killer who was so full of hatred, and anger,

and racism, and homophobia, and he was able

to legally purchase a high-powered weapon one week

before killing my son, my son’s boyfriend Juan,

and 47 other people.

If he were on the floor of the club shot,

and he had a thought, he would be thinking,

"Please, Juan, I want you to know that I love you,

"and mom, I want you to know that I love you."

I know he would be thinking that.

I would just want him to know that I know

that’s what would be in his heart, and that, yes,

we’re gonna be sad, but we’re going to love you,

and we’re gonna continue your voice.

(mournful music)

As big as my voice is now, that’s how much I loved my son,

that I cannot let his voiced be silenced.

And however he died or whoever killed him,

or for whatever their means, and whoever’s accountable,

they should be accountable.

We should know what happened.

It’s not fair.

It’s not fair

that there’s all this mystery surrounding all these deaths.

(gentle music)

- My son called me.

He texted me at 2:06 and said, I love you, mom.

And it woke me up, and I’m like, what is this boy doing?

He was like, "Call for help."

So I had got on another phone and was calling a dispatcher,

and they was like, "First responders are already there."

(camera clicking)

My world ended, and now, my whole life changed.

It would never be the same.

My son and me was close as two pies.

And I tried to get it right, but I have family and friends,

and every day is a battle.

Some days better than others.

Some minutes, seconds, real bad,

but I know he would want me to be his voice,

because he was so alive.

He was always happy.

Whatever he’d say he was gonna do, he did it.

I was so proud of him.

Anybody meet him, he would brighten your day.

Encouraging words he’d say to his friends.

He was hilarious.

He was a jokester, yeah.

I have to be the voice for Eddie.

I’m gonna be his voice until the day I leave here.

Anytime you wanna talk about Eddie Justice, I’m his voice.

- Yes. |

Yep, he knew he was gonna die.

- Only God.

Only God, and ask God for peace,

because if you carry, if you keep hate.

I had hate, a lot of hate, a lot of anger,

but I had to release it and give it to Him,

because He’s not gonna bless me if I keep hating.

You have to forgive,

because you cannot get back what’s done.

- Eddie Justice, Eddie "Droy" Justice.

Life, light, happiness, free spirit.

(gentle music)

- [Charlie] If you had one last moment with him,

what would you tell him?

- I love him, and that will never change.

That’s a special person that was just innocent

and didn’t deserve to die.

(gentle music)

(Carmen speaking in Spanish) |

- He got shot one time. |

He just bleed to death at the hospital.

- [Charlie] The hospital? |

- At the hospital. |

(camera clicking)

- [Charlie] Where was he shot?

- He was shot from the back, and it came out

through the front right here.

- [Charlie] Oh. |

- Yep.

That’s what we said.

Only one bullet just took him just like that,

let him bleed to death, and it’s sad.

(Carmen speaking in Spanish) |

- I was there that night with my friend Stanley.

We hadn’t talked for the longest time before that.

We used to date in the past and we were really good friends,

and then we just had a falling out.

And then, that night, we were like, "Hey, let’s talk."

Our birthdays were coming up, so we were there

and we were talking about

how there shouldn’t be any animosity.

We’re getting older.

And it’s crazy to me that he said this,

but he’s like, "You don’t know when your last day

"on Earth is, so you don’t wanna leave here with animosity

"with someone that you had a good connection with."

I’m like, "Yeah, you’re right."

We’re dancing, we’re having fun, and we wanted to leave,

so we start walking towards the bar,

because he had a tab open.

He was like, "Oh, here.

"Take my card.

"Go pay my tab, and I’ll go get the car."

And that was the last time that I saw him.

I had my other friend there. |

We call her Zeus, the love and the life the party.

She just made to always put me under her wing,

and she was such a tiny little thing

with her dreads, and I always told her

that she reminded me of Lil Wayne,

but a cuter, prettier version.

She was amazing.

She was just an.

All these people that passed away,

I think about all the time.

They were such amazing people, and the ones

that I knew personally were such, such amazing people.

(gentle music)

- She was studying for nursing. |

She wanted to become a midwife. |

She has two jobs plus going to school,

so she leaved the house a six o’clock in the morning

and she’d come back at home 11:30 at night.

We always used to sing together two Celine Dion songs,

and Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez’s "No Me Ames" song

that we always used to do everywhere on the karaoke.

She loved watching the Red Sox,

and she loved watching the Buccaneers game with her dad.

You are never gonna forget your kids.

That’s just part of you.

They’re always in your heart.

They’re always with you.

I have a lot of support of a lot of people

that contact me via Facebook, and I’m so grateful for that,

that everyday I have someone sending me an encouraged word,

and that is just what keeps me going.

(melancholic music) |

- The story about Jean is very heartbreaking.

They ran out. |

Once they got outside, Jean turned around and said,

"He’s not here," and he ran back in looking for Luis.

He ran in by himself looking for Luis.

In Puerto Rico, it was very hard for him to be openly gay.

It’s still difficult to have that acceptance.

He came out to a couple people.

He came out to my mother.

My mother told him, "That’s fine.

"We knew.

"We’re gonna help you.

"Come live with us and be who you are."

He wanted to make sure others were okay.

He didn’t want others to be bullied.

- [Charlie] Tell us about Jean.

- He had his serious moments, but so funny.

He had this humor and this love for everybody.

At times, it was childlike.

They both loved each other, and they loved us.

We loved them.

(foreboding music)

(sorrowful music) |

- [Charlie] Tell us about Akyra.

What kind of person was she?

- She was amazing, my little cousin.

I swear, I can have the worst day possible.

Just to call her and hear her say hello,

I would be just fine after that.

She was an amazing spirit.

She was very dedicated

to whatever she did, especially with basketball.

And it’s funny, because she died wanting

to study something that is what killed her.

She wanted to study criminology.

She wanted to know why criminals did what they did.

My cousin, my little cousin who was with me

literally every day, all the time.

She lived exactly 10 minutes from my house.

(camera clicking)

She was the most hardworking person I knew.

She gave me motivation, and she’s younger.

I’m supposed to be the one she look up to.

It’s just so hard to see the term, the good die young.

I definitely believe that.

She had just turned 18, just turned 18.

(sorrowful music)

- Me and Akyra never really got a chance to hang out

with each other, so at that night,

that was literally our first time really hanging out.

- [Charlie] How often do you think about that?

- All the time.

I think about it every day.

Honestly, every day, all sorts of what if questions,

but that one is one that’s never gonna go away, ever.

- It made me feel like crap.

I really wish they’d have just stayed outside.

I’d have figured out the rest, and if it was my time to go,

I was at peace with that.

It’s a hard pill to swallow,

a very, very hard pill to swallow.

(sorrowful music)

It was hard, but I didn’t want nobody else

to do it, ’cause I see

how some funeral homes have ’em looking ghostly.

They don’t have to look ghostly,

because that’s not how she looked before she died.

The last time I did her makeup was

for her graduation pictures.

I did little stuff.

I did her eyebrows.

I gave her some lipstick and some mascara,

and we went about our business, and some eyeliner.

And I did it the same exact way,

unintentionally, but I did it the same way,

and I couldn’t do nothing but just cry the whole time.

To see her, and touch her face, and just to feel

how cold and hard her body was, just looking at her

and just talking to her those whole four hours,

telling her to get up like she can hear me.

(mournful music) |

- Right before the police bust through our bathroom,

the shooter began shooting again.

He shot three more times.

He shot one person.

He said, "Hey, you."

He shot someone, shot another person,

and then shot the person that was directly behind me.

I didn’t know what was going on at the time,

but I felt somebody get closer to me,

and then I heard the gunshot, and I heard someone scream.

He covered my body with his.

I credit him for saving my life, Jason Josaphat.

- I don’t know who else would do that,

but yeah, that was Jason. |

Sometime I’m like, Jason, |

I wish you had a little selfish bones in your body,

’cause he was not selfish at all.

He will do his last for anybody else, stranger, anybody.

That’s the person he was.

- [Charlie] Who was he there with then?

- He was there with his male friend.

They just started dating.

Nobody knew about Jason but me as far as his sexuality.

He wanted to be a photographer.

He’d talk about modeling.

He wanted to be, he just wanted to do so many things.

He used to play football.

Then, he was in hip-hop dance.

He was a cheerleader, gymnastics.

He was doing everything, making silly videos.

That’s what he liked to do.

He had a lot of things going for him,

a lot of things going for him.

(woeful music) |

- They were really great people. |

They really still are, ’cause I know they’re

with me everywhere I go,

and we spend pretty good times together.

Every time I would go to work, I would just look at my phone

and think that I would just get a message from them,

but unfortunately, I know I won’t.

(woeful music) |

But I miss ’em. |

I miss ’em a lot, especially now

that I don’t go out anywhere. |

I don’t go out ’cause I don’t have my friends

to call me anymore and be like, "Adrian, let’s go out."

- [Charlie] If you had all of them in one room,

and you had one last thing to say to them,

what would it be?

- I would tell ’em thank you, because I loved them a lot.

They were basically my family, and they filled me

with love the last time that we were together.

(mournful music)

- When the gunfire started coming through the back wall,

he saw it hitting the bartender in front of him,

and he saw the door open to his left,

and he saw people coming out the door,

and he saw people falling down dead.

And he was a streetwise New York boy.

He grabbed his friends.

He got them down on the ground

as the bullets rained overhead.

And then, when there was a moment to get over the fence,

they ran to fence, and he got his friends over the fence.

Most of us in that situation, when death is behind us

and it’s coming for us, we would be the first

to climb over that fence.

He pushed them over, and I just think that that says

so much about the loyalty and the love

that he had for people.

And he escaped.

Back in 2007, the roommate that I had was leaving suddenly,

so I posted on Craigslist for a roommate,

and within an hour, I got a call from Chris.

And he said, "Hey, I’m needing a room,"

and he came up and knocked on my door.

I remember that day so vividly.

When you meet that person that is just so full of life

for you in that way, they just change your life the minute

that you meet them.

He was so joyous, so funny.

We clicked like that.

And it was funny because we already knew we were friends

within 30 seconds, and he came in the apartment.

And he was like, "Oh, of course I’ll take it.

"This is perfect."

And I was like, "So, would you like to watch a movie?

"I have a whole bunch of movies."

He goes, "Well, you probably don’t have my favorite."

And I was like, "Well, what’s that?"

And he’s like, "Well, it’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun,

"with Sarah Jessica Parker."

And I was like, "Oh, my gosh," and I reached

into my collection and I pulled it out.

And he was like (gasps).

And so, just instantly,

because we liked all the same things,

and we just really connected, and that was

just kind of an example of how.

We were separated in age by about 11 years,

but it was just like he was my brother.

When he first passed away,

when the brain hemorrhage did take him,

there was some questions.

What 34 year old just falls over dead?

Is it drugs?

Is it something else?

Did somebody attack him?

Because he just went out for a cigarette,

and then his friends were like, "Where is he?

"He’s been gone a long time,"

and they went out and they found him.

If you look at pictures before the event,

you can see that sparkle, and that light,

and that life in his eyes.

And then, the pictures after, you can see the change.

You can see the weight of it on him,

and I personally feel that, of course, it contributed to it.

And so, for a long time, Chris did not get.

Nobody wanted to talk about him.

And it was just a horrible injustice,

because they talk about the 49,

but really it’s 49 plus one,

because he survived that horror,

and he helped people survive, and yet that event killed him.

It killed him surely as if a bullet went through him.

(woeful music)

- Since the time that I’ve been living here in Orlando,

I didn’t know the LGBT could be this strong,

and not only in Orlando, all over the world.

- We had over 2.000 people come to Orlando and donate blood,

and it’s stuff like that that really shows

that something bad can happen,

but something extremely good can come out of it.

- It pulled us together as a community.

Humanity is kind of a hard thing to have faith in

when you see all the terrible things that happen,

and when such goodness comes

out of such a awful tragedy, it’s shocking to see.

It’s amazing to see the goodness of people out there.

- You just saw this enormous sense of humanity and unity.

People of all walks of life erasing any sense of difference

between us and our LGBT brothers and sisters,

and between us and our Hispanic brothers and sisters.

(woeful music)

- I think the best thing that came

out of the shooting was the fact

that there was so much love, and there still is,

and there’s gonna continue to be, and awareness.

(woeful music)

- There is a lot more to this story than it’s being told.

Why did it take so long?

Why did so many bodies have to be killed?

How many people did they kill?

- I don’t think that they killed.

I think maybe they injured... |

- Yeah, and could have died from their bullets,

but mystery is still being uphold.

- Yeah.

- [Charlie] Do you think we should be suspicious,

the general public, that the FBI report’s not

out on this thing?

- You know what?

They need to really make sure that investigation is done

properly, and dot their Is and cross their Ts.

I had no idea the report wasn’t out.

That’s something I don’t really follow up on,

but eventually, that report will come out.

And whenever it does,

I’m sure it’ll be available to the public.

- I was shot in the right-lower abdomen,

the left-inner thigh, the left hip,

the right hip, and the left-upper wrist.

Physically, I’m doing fine.

I was doing really good, recovering wise.

I did a lot of physical therapy myself in the hospital.

I did occupational therapy, which was really hard,

but I got through it,

and I started working again right away.

(melancholic music)

- I got shot on my right-lower back, right above my hip,

and then I got shot on my left side, right above my spine,

and it came out an inch below my spine on my left side.

It shattered my pelvis.

(melancholic music)

They don’t sugarcoat, so they do tell me

that it’s never gonna be what it was.

I’m not gonna be able to do the same amount

of activity as I was, so sports

and all that won’t be a normal thing.

Everything has to be done lighter,

so I’m always joking around.

I’m like, "I look this young on the outside,

"but I’m really 57 on the inside."

- What they madman did in a matter

of three hours will not be the legacy of Pulse,

and it won’t be the legacy of their loved ones.

We refuse to accept hatred and violence

as the last chapter of this story.

The last chapter of this story is one

of strength, resiliency, of love and compassion,

and that is the lasting memory that their loved ones

and that this community is going to have

when we think of June 12th, 2016.

It’s going to be the day that love overcame hate.

- [Charlie] If you had all the victims in one room,

they were all in one room, and you had one thing

to say to them, what would it be?

- Wow, that’s a good question.

First of all, I would probably wanna hug ’em all.

I’d start that route.

Try to make them secure.

Try to make them feel that they matter,

that they mean something to me personally

as a first responder.

- [Charlie] If you had all the victims in one room,

what would you tell them?

- That’s a good question.

I would probably just get emotional.

I wouldn’t really have words to say.

I would just be happy to see everybody’s face.

I would be sad to see some faces that I don’t see any more.

But I would definitely, if I had one thing to say,

I would say that we’re all here, and we’re still here,

and we’re not going anywhere.

("49 Times" by Brandon Parsons)

? When the night has fallen |

? And our smiles quickly fade |

? When the love we held so close

? Was instantly torn away

? When the lights are flashing

? And the tears begin to fall

? When we wait for all the sounds

? To finally go away from us all

? But in the blink of an eye

? Our hearts slowly died

? As we felt our pulse

? 49 times

? We will never hide

? We will never run

? Stand strong and always fight

? Break free and always love

? Don’t lose sight of who we are

? We will never break

? We will never die

? We were made for more than just tonight

? Takes more than just a gun

? More than you to tear us down

? So let your colors fly free

? We are forever strong

? We are forever

? When your dreams were quickly shattered

? When you were not prepared to fight

? When you were safe inside the shadows

? When you were dancing through the night

? When every moment feels like hours

? And all the shouts rang out again

? When our lives are held for ransom

? As he holds it in his hands

? And in the blink of an eye

? Our hearts slowly died

? As we felt our pulse

? 49 times

? We will never hide

? We will never run

? Stand strong and always fight

? Break free and always love

? Don’t lose sight of who we are

? We will never break

? We will never die

? We were made for more than just tonight

? lt takes more than just a gun

? More than you to tear us down |

? So let your colors fly free

? We are forever strong

? We are forever strong

? Orlando

? We are, we are Orlando

? We are, we are Orlando strong

? Oh, oh, oh

? So in the blink of an eye

? Our hearts slowly died

? As we felt our pulse

? 49 times