June 12, 2026

Pulse Nightclub (Re-release)

Show Notes
Transcript

Terror struck the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in June 12, 2016. The club was hosting their weekly Latin club when a man entered and opened fire. 49 were dead and over 50 were wounded. Over 90 percent of victims were Latinos.

Today June 12, 2026 is the anniversary of this event and Espooky Tales is re-releasing episode 170 in light of today.

WEBVTT

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Hi everyone. This is Christina and this is MJ and Carmen.

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So I am talking about the Post nightclub shooting. You know,

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just trigger warning for like mass murder, and yeah, I

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think that covers it. Okay, So to go a little

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bit into what happened that day and then we'll go

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to more details. But on Unjune twelve, twenty sixteen, a

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gunman opened fire at the Post nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

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Fortnite people were killed and fifty three were wounded, and

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over ninety percent of those who were killed and wounded,

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I mean were Latino, Latine LATINX and it's Pride month,

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and this horrific crime truly affected the Latina community of Florida,

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and I mean like all over the US really, and

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I feel like only the Latine organizations were the ones

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like really talking about how this was the Latina community

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that was mostly affected.

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Yeah, So to speak a little bit as someone that

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puts the B in LGBTQ and has been part of

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the community, there's a lot of racist white LGBTQ people, a.

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Lot of too many really, and then they use their

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identity to like justify like yeah, it's called pink washing.

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It's it's an issue like how are you going to

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be marginalized part of a marginalized community and continue to marginalize.

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Others, but because at the end of the day, they're

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still white. Yeah, that's true, and they're align with white supremacy.

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So it is it's a huge issue.

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It's a huge issue.

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Yeah, and these things are all tied, as we say

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many times here on a spooky tails And so that's

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why I wanted to talk about it today because it

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was a crime that affected the Latina community, the LGBTQ

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plus Latina community, and I've been wanting to cover it

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for a while, and now that we're doing true crime

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in every episode, I was like, this is the perfect time.

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It's Pride Month. So yeah, So to get into the

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club first. Pulse was founded in two thousand and four

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by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler. Barbara named the club

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Pulls after her brother John, who had died from AIDS

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in nineteen ninety one. She said, it's name for John's

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pulls to live on, which I am I crying right

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now when I was reading it. Before John became sick,

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he was the life of the party and he introduced

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Barbara to the underground night life where they grew up

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in for Lauderdale, and so they were out partying together.

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He was, you know, showing her the scene and she

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didn't know anything about it, but she felt so welcomed,

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even though she wasn't part of like she wasn't any

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type of uh archibot herself. Yes, thank you, but she

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just felt so welcome. You know, there is something about

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gay clubs like there's nothing else like it out there.

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I love.

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They really are inclusive and protective of femininity, in which

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I can appreciate because it's one of the few places

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where femininity is accepted and loved and celebrated.

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Yes, yeah, yeah, I love it. And you're least likely

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to be grow up there.

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Also, though it is a problem, I heard it as

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a problem that a lot of uh straight women bring

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their straight partners.

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Yeah, leave them at home. Nobody wants them there. Also,

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I don't I feel like if you're just with your

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straight friends, you shouldn't go there, but if you're with

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your gay friends, you can't go there. It's a good rule. Yeah,

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because you hear about bachelorette parties and they're not like

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they're just like straight and they go there, you know,

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And I'm like, I don't. I don't know if that's right.

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I feel I do understand though, like the safety, the

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wanting the safety thing.

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Because yeah, I get that too, but also be aware

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and don't be disrespectful. Like a lot of times what

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is called self aware, be self aware because a lot

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of people are not and.

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They go into places where there are guests and they

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don't behave like guests.

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Yeah, behave like a guest. Okay, that's the rule. And

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I don't know if you're going to get into it,

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but I know like for a lot of LGBTU people

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when they go to gay club and stuff, it's like

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it's more than just like going out, like if I

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were to go to the club and dance, you know

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what I mean, Like because it's one of the first

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places that probably is welcoming and celebrating and of accepting

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who they are. So it's like it's so much more

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like communal. And yes, it's funny you say that because

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Barbara even on the website of polls, she said it's

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more than a club was on there, and yeah it is,

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And that's what she felt like when she was partying

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with her with her brother, and so when he died

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in nineteen einety one after battling HIV, which turned into

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ads for years, that's when she opened Polls to create

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a place like where what he first introduced her to.

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She wanted to make that for everyone. And so it

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was a gay bar, a gay club, but it was

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so much more than that. It was a safe place

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for the LGBTU plus community, and it served also as

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a place for the community to learn about HIV, p

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breast cancer awareness, and immigrant rights. Wow, they did all

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of that too, and they partnered with a lot of

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educational and advocacy groups like Come Out with Pride and

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Equality Florida. So really more than just a club and

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likely lead that out in all senses. Yeah, and so

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the club again more than a club. It was very

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very popular. There was in a list of Orlando in

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like the top ten clubs and so. On June eleventh,

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twenty sixteen, it was the club's weekly Latin night and

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it was packed. Club goers were having a good time, dancing, drinking.

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Drag Queen Kenya michaels A Rue Paul drag race contestant

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had just finished performing and it was amazing. And then

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last call was announced around two am, and so now

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it was June twelve. There were about three hundred and

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twenty people in the club when last call was announced,

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and then out of nowhere, gunshots were fired near the entrance.

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Adam Gruhler, who was an off duty officer working that

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night as a security guard, he was armed, and so

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he pulled out his gun and he tried to shoot

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back at the gunman, and their gun battle was brief

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because the gunman had a semi automatic rifle and a

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semi automatic pistol, and so Adam Gruhler he had to

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retreat because he was like, my weapon, I can't like

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I'm not I don't have enough firepower to like try

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and get him. So he you know, retreated and hit somewhere,

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and he called for backup. And because he was an officer,

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I think, and he was the one that called for

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backup aside from like maybe phone calls that club goers

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room making. The police arrived very quickly two well four,

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so in four minutes, wow, wow, yeah, And I know, yeah.

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That is unheard of because their take for fucking ever.

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Yeah yeah, So it was an additional units, So I

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think a pair of officers together in the car, but

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still like that was very fast. So as he retreats,

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the gunman continues firing, hitting at least a dozen club goers,

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like within seconds. Panic obviously ensued. You know, people are

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running away and he's just killing them as they're trying

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to run away. So the additional officers arrived at two

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o four. When they got inside, Adam told them the

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gunman was on the patio, and then the officers joined

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him where they were trying to fight out the gunmen

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together in hopes of stopping him, and the gunman was

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firing back at the officers, but then he ran into

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one of the bathrooms, which then created a hostage situation

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because a ton of people ran into the bathroom to

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try and hide when they first heard gunshots. So at

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two nine, there was a warning that appeared on the club,

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the club's Facebook page that said everyone get out of

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polls and keep running. Oh my god, that's so so horrible. Yeah,

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some people were able to do so, and not everyone could,

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like people were trapped and and hell cologne. He had

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been at the club with his friends when they heard

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the gunshots and they ran, but he was shot three

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times when they were running away, and he fell and

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then he was trampled because there was so many people there,

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so he was stuck on the floor and he saw

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as the gunman was just shooting the people around him,

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but he played dead and he survived. Oh my god,

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it's just like it's so horrifying. Ray Rivenna, he was

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the DJ that night. He took cover behind his booth

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and then hit two other people with him, and the

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three were able to escape together. And there was a

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lot of people that had been wounded, but they were

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still alive playing dead on the dance floor, which worked

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through some people and some people didn't. Swat arrived around

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to eighteen am, so again that's pretty fast because everything

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started at two am. The gunman was still in the bathroom,

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and so someone else that was at the club, Patients Carter.

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She was there with her friends. She was on vacation

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with them. They had arrived two pulls at bed night

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and before everything happened. She described the night as magical

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and like she felt, I don't know, alive, welcome, loved

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for the first time, like out of any place she

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had been before. So they were, yeah, having like the

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night of their life before everything went down. When they

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heard gunshots they were confused because like it's dark, there's

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very loud of music. At first, they thought it was fireworks,

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but then they saw other people running, so they ran outside.

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And when her and her friends got outside, they you know,

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did a headcount to make sure everyone was there. But

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one friend was missing.

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Oh my god.

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I can't imagine the fear that they must know, and

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I don't know, maybe the guilt. They went back inside,

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oh my god, to find their friend. Oh my god.

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And when I read that, I cried because, like not

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to get a little head, but Patience was the only

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one who survives out of her friends. I'm gonna cry

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right now. I know it's horrible. I'm so the group.

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You know, they ran back and started to find their friend.

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But at this point they saw the gunmen, like you know,

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in their direction, and they ran into the bathroom to

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hide because they saw other people running down. How they

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became part of the host They became part of the

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hoste situation. My god. And when they were running into

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the bathroom, another guy was following them behind them. He

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pushed them inside, closed the door to try and stop

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the guy from going into the bathroom. Oh my god,

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but the gunman just killed him and went inside the bathroom.

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But like it was like, there's so many people that

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die trying to save other people. I mean, so much

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bravery here. I Mean it's so hard to hear, but

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I feel like that's what needs to be highlighted, like

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the people who were there, Yeah.

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Because that's like really unheard of, Like you you rarely

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see in American culture where it's like it's a very

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MEMI me culture, but you have these minority cultures and

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they're really like ten toes down for each other.

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Yeah, And that's the thing when there's like crisis situations

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like this, I don't think it matters where you are

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what's happening. There's always going to be people like the

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guy who pushed them into the bathroom and stood at

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the doorway. Always the gunman, you know, entered the bathroom anyway,

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and as soon as he entered he opened fire. At

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some point he stopped, you know, after leaving like a

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trail of people. And so when he stopped, the phones

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were going off like crazy because the people that were

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still alive in there were messaging their loved ones. He

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left the bathroom for a second, but then immediately went

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back in and this time, he pulled out his phone

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and called nine one one, and he told the operator like,

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you know, because they asked, like, what's your name, That's

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one of the first things they ask you when you

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call nine one one, And he didn't never say it.

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He just said in the name of God the Merciful

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in Arabic. Then he said Praise be to God, and

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then he said, you know, and the operator repeatedly is like, okay,

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what's your name, Like, what's your name? And he just

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never said it. And so then when she asked like

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the third time, he said that he was the one

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in Orlando and he did the shooting. And you know,

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the operator keeps trying to get his name and the

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gun and keeps talking about how he's acting in the

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behalf or acting on the behalf of the Islamic state.

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He hangs up suddenly, and then he calls the local

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news and then tells the local news that he did

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this on the behalf of Isis. But the thing is,

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he's naming all these different groups that don't like work together. Ever,

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he's like he's not actually a part of these groups. No,

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he's not, which is important to like say, this was

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a lone person acting doing this. He was really not

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a representative any of anyone, you know, So he tells

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them he did this on the behalf of ISIS, and

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another point, he says, he does this on the behalf

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of Hezbola, like all these Okaeda, like all these different groups.

241
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He also posts this on Facebook. He tells the news

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he's the fourth shooter and the there's bombs inside. He

243
00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:48.720
also texted his wife around four in the morning and

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she's like, where are you. She had no idea this

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was happening. And then he asks have you seen the news?

246
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And she said no. And the last thing he replied

247
00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:58.039
to her is I love you, and that was it. So,

248
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you know, like at this point, it's been hours since

249
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two am, and people are still stuck in the bathroom

250
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.759
with him. They're having to hear him say these things,

251
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Oh my god. Hiding underneath like other bodies. You know,

252
00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:14.799
there's a phone that keeps going off inside the bathroom,

253
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and the gunman is getting angrier and angrier about the phone,

254
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and honestly, he keeps yelling for the phone to stop

255
00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.279
or whoever has the phone like to shut it off,

256
00:13:23.639 --> 00:13:25.919
but like the phone probably belonged to someone who was

257
00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:29.200
not alive anymore. Yeah, and couldn't shut it off. And

258
00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:32.039
so patients who was in one of the stalls through

259
00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:35.039
her phone and said it was hers, which wasn't. But

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this calmed him down. This probably saved everyone else that

261
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was in there. Wow. And just ah, my god, I

262
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can't get over like the bravery because she didn't know

263
00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:44.879
how he was going to react, Like what if that

264
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set him off and cause him to shoot her, you know, yeah,

265
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so brave. Yeah, and she's inside on the stalls, so

266
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she just throws it over the stall or under I'm

267
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not sure, but either one. So at some point police

268
00:13:57.240 --> 00:13:59.720
are able to pull off an ac that was attached

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to wind in one of the dressing rooms. Some people

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are able to escape through there. This was around four

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twenty am. Oh my god. Then you know everyone can

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hear police, you know, through like outside, yelling for people

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to move away from the walls. But some people couldn't

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because it would reveal that they're alive, putting them at

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risk for being killed. So they you know, set off

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these explosions to try and get inside, but the explosion

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is too small, they don't fit. And also the explosion

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caused a pipe to burst in the bathroom, which is

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now quickly filling with water. Oh my god, I hope

280
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not sower water like probably, but also like it's filling

281
00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:38.960
up quick also putting the people that are like on

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the floor and they're like underneath bodies. Yeah, and they

283
00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:46.159
don't want to move because they've been taking that they're dead, right, Yeah,

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Patients was underneath a dead person when this happened, and

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so now she's worried about drowning. So now the gunman

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00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.559
probably trying to like get away from police or like

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thinking police are not going to shoot me if I'm

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like near more people. He kicks selling one of the

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bathroom stalls and goes inside, and this is where Patients is,

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oh oh, and then he starts firing at people one

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00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:17.000
by one inside the stall, including the person that Patients

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was hiding under, but she was okay. The police finally

293
00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.039
were able to breach the building and they fired at

294
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the gunman. There was about one hundred and fifty gun

295
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shots fired and eight hit him, killing him. And this

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was around five fifty AM. From what I can tell,

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these gunshots only killed him, no other people. Because that's

298
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I mean, that's a lot of fun. Yeah, that's around

299
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so this was around five fifty am. Once he was hit,

300
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the SWAT team rushed into the bathroom and they asked people,

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the people in there if there was anyone else, because

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they thought that there was more gunmen and more people attacking,

303
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because he said he was the fourth one when he

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was talking to the news, but you know, they all

305
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yelled out like desperately, like no, he was the only

306
00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:03.559
and so then SWAT started carrying out the survivors and

307
00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.919
the gunman. He was identified on the news like nationally

308
00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.639
around ten to fifteen am of that day. And in

309
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the end, thirty nine people died at the club, and

310
00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:16.519
then another ten either in the hospital or on the

311
00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.639
way to the hospital. And up to this day, this

312
00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:24.159
was the deadliest mass shooting attack in the United States.

313
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It's just so sad. And it's also sad that you

314
00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.279
have to say to this day because or to that day,

315
00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:32.039
like up to that day because after this, the Las

316
00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:36.840
Vegas Strip shooting, which was even more people. So it's

317
00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:41.919
just this it's depressing. Yeah, and just to name the

318
00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:47.120
victims here, So I did find and thanks because I

319
00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:50.200
listened to like three or four episodes to like just

320
00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.200
see what else was out there that I missed on

321
00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:55.519
like the different news articles and sources that I had,

322
00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:59.759
and the Generation Why podcast had an episode where they

323
00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:02.360
had information on the victims, just like a little bit.

324
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It's something that family is and friends said, so that's

325
00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:07.160
where I got this information from, because I couldn't find

326
00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:12.720
any that any of that online. So Stanley Almodovar the third,

327
00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:16.640
he was twenty three, so young, Yeah, so young. Friends

328
00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:19.079
and family said about him he made people feel welcome

329
00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:22.559
and loved. A friend of his said that he made

330
00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:24.720
them feel like it was okay to be who they

331
00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:26.920
were because they had just come out and they were

332
00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.799
like new to everything, and with him they could be themselves.

333
00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.240
Amanda Alvare was twenty five. She was there with her

334
00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.599
friend Mercedes, who also passed away. She was the best

335
00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.440
tha two your little old nibblings, and had just gone

336
00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.440
shopping with them that weekend. She wanted to be a nurse.

337
00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:48.799
Oscar Arasena Montero was twenty six. He was there with

338
00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:52.119
his partner Simon. They had just returned from a trip

339
00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:56.640
together and they had just bought a home together. Rodolfo

340
00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:00.839
Ayala was thirty three. He was in at a blood

341
00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:03.559
donation center and he just wanted to help people and

342
00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:05.599
make a difference, and he felt like every day he

343
00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:09.559
made a difference helping people get blood. Alexandro Barrios Martinez

344
00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.720
was twenty one. He was a Cuban immigrant and his

345
00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:17.359
family misses him dearly. Martin Benitez Torres was thirty three.

346
00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.240
He was a student, a university student on vacation visiting

347
00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:25.680
family when this happened. Antonio Brown was thirty. He was

348
00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:29.160
an army captain in the reserves, and everyone about him

349
00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:33.039
said he was always smiling, always helping people. Darryl Berts

350
00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.200
the Second was twenty nine, and his friends and family

351
00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.839
said he always had a smile on his face. Jonathan

352
00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:43.519
Camui Vega was twenty four. He worked for Telemundo and

353
00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:48.160
he was a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

354
00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:52.000
Angel Candelario Padro was twenty eight. He was a zumba

355
00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:56.160
instructor and from Puerto Rico and his classes were probably

356
00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:00.480
like really good, I'm sure. Simon Cario Fernandez was thirty one.

357
00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:03.440
I couldn't find any more information on him. Quan Chaws

358
00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.480
Martinez was twenty five. He was the youngest of six children,

359
00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.960
and his siblings described him as the best brother ever.

360
00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:14.200
Luis Conde was thirty nine. He was there with his

361
00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:18.279
partner and they died together, and they were both described

362
00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:22.799
as extraordinary humans. Corey Cournell was twenty one. He wanted

363
00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:25.400
to be a firefighter, that was his dream, and he

364
00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.759
was there with his girlfriend who survived the attack. Tevin

365
00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:33.039
Crosby was twenty five and he friends said about him

366
00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.599
that he had the best laugh and he spread joy

367
00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:40.119
wherever he went. Frankie the Jesus Velasquez was fifty and

368
00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:43.079
he was a professional dancer and also worked out forever

369
00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:47.839
twenty one. Deanka Drayton, who went by Didi, was thirty

370
00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:50.680
two and she was a bartender up Pols and she

371
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:53.960
was just turning her life around after like a bunch

372
00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.039
of hardships. She had just started hanging out with friends

373
00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.559
and family more often. She started going to church. People

374
00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:05.480
could see like she was just feeling better and like

375
00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:10.559
turning her life around. Merceles Flores was twenty six from Queens,

376
00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:14.839
New York, on vacation in Florida. She was studying literature

377
00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:18.759
at the community college. Peter Gonzalez Cruz was twenty two

378
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:22.279
and he went by Ami. That was his nickname and

379
00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:25.519
he friends and family said that he made a difference

380
00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:30.039
everywhere he went. Juan Guerrero was twenty two and he

381
00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:32.759
was attending university. He had just come out and he

382
00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.839
was so scared to do it, but his family was

383
00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.920
so accepting of him. Paul t Henry was forty one.

384
00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.640
He is survived by his two kids and he loved

385
00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:46.319
to dance. Frank Ernandez, who went by Frankie, was there

386
00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:50.960
with his partner and they both passed away. Miguel Honrado

387
00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:54.640
was thirty and he left behind three kids. He was

388
00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:56.880
at the club with his brother and friend and he

389
00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.039
was the only one that didn't make it that night.

390
00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:03.319
Javier Yes was forty. He went by Heavy. He was

391
00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.400
in Puerto Rico, and he was described as always positive

392
00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:10.519
and outgoing and just the loveliest friend to have. Jason

393
00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:15.400
Josephatt was nineteen and he was just figuring out his life.

394
00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:18.680
I'm like so young. Yeah, he had just decided he

395
00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.279
wanted to get a degree in computer science and he was,

396
00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:23.720