49 Pulses (2017) - full transcript

(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

♪ It 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