A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday, killing at least 50 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Here are stories of some of the victims.
Edward Sotomayor, 34
Pulse nightclub shooting victim Edward Sotomayor Jr. was a national brand manager for ALandCHUCK.travel, a travel agency catering to the gay community, according to his social media profiles.
Sotomayor, 34 of Sarasota, had previously worked for What’s Happening Magazine, a gay entertainment and lifestyle publication, according to his LinkedIn page, which said he attended the University of South Florida.
He described himself as a “disciplined motivator,” team player and problem-solver.
Al Ferguson, owner of the travel site where Sotomayor worked, posted on Facebook that Sunday was “one of the saddest days of [his] life.”
Dozens replied to share condolences.
Sotomayor’s uncle, Larry Sotomayor, also posted about the death on Facebook, asking for prayers.
“He was just always part of the fun,” said David Sotomayor, who lives in Chicago and identified himself as the victim’s cousin.
The two texted regularly and kept in touch, last seeing each other earlier this year at a filming of the television reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” David Sotomayor said.
David Sotomayor is a drag queen who appeared on a season of the show using the name “Jade.” He said Edward Sotomayor supported him and often sent him Facebook messages. They last exchanged messages late last week.
“You never think that’s going to be the last time you speak to him,” David Sotomayor said. “It’s just heartbreaking to know it just can happen anytime.”
— Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel; Associated Press contributed
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, told his cousin Robert Guerrero he was gay about two years ago, but he was worried about how the rest of his family would react. He did not tell them until just before the beginning of this year. And when he did?
“They were very accepting,” said Guerrero, 19. “As long as he was happy, they were OK with it.”
On Sunday morning, after learning that so many people had died at a gay nightclub, Pulse, that his cousin had gone to once in a while, Guerrero started to become concerned. Later in the day, his fears were realized when the family learned that Guerrero was identified as one of the victims.
Robert Guerrero said his cousin worked as a telemarketer and in recent months he started attending college at the University of Central Florida. Guerrero said his cousin didn’t quite know what he wanted to study, but he was happy to be in school. And he was happy in a relationship with a person his relatives came to regard as a member of the family, Guerrero said.
“He was always this amazing person (and) he was like a big brother to me,” he said of his cousin. “He was never the type to go out to parties, would rather stay home and care for his niece and nephew.”
Associated Press
Stanley Almodovar III, 23
On his way to the Pulse nightclub, Stanley Almodovar III laughed and sang, posting to Snapchat while a friend drove.
“I wish I had that to remember him forever,” said his mother Rosalie Ramos, 51.
She expected he would come home hungry. She had whipped up some tomato and cheese dip and left it in the refrigerator for him.
But her son, 23, a pharmacy technician, died in the shooting at the Orlando nightclub.
She was in bed at 2 in the morning when she was awakened by her cell phone.
“Come quick, hurry,” a frantic woman cried on the phone. “You need to be here.”
Ramos said she dressed quickly and raced to the club in Orlando.
“I was hoping maybe [he was shot in] the hand or the leg,” she said. “You can survive [a gunshot to] the leg.”
But he was hit three times: in the chest, the stomach, the side, and died at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Ramos said her son was a happy man with a big heart. He often fussed with his hair, changing the style. It was dyed Saturday night.
He graduated from East Ridge High School in Clermont in 2011 and studied at Anthem College to work in a pharmacy.
His aunt Yoly described him as “an amazing person with a good soul.” She said he had a promising future.
She said a young woman who was with him said he came out of the bathroom as bullets were flying and he pushed people out of the way.
He would have turned 24 later this month.
Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
Eric Ivan Ortiz Rivera, 36, came to Florida from Puerto Rico to work his way up in his career and have a chance at a better life.
Early Sunday, his life ended in the gunfire at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.
“Eric was always willing to help everybody. He sacrificed himself a lot for his family,” said his former roommate, Abismel Colon Gomez of Orlando. “He loved his brother, and he was always being generous.”
Known as Eric Ortiz, he worked in merchandise management, first for Toys “R” Us and then for Ross. He held a bachelor’s degree in communications from Univercidad Central de Bayamon, Colon Gomez said.
Ortiz Rivera had a brother and aunt living in the Orlando area — as well as a wide group of friends.
“I am really in shock that he was in the club, because he was not usually a club-scene person,” Colon Gomez said. “The only reason he went was because there was a house-warming party for our friend. And Eric was like his mentor.”
After the house-warming party on Saturday night, the crowd had moved to Pulse, a common place for members of the Hispanic gay community to celebrate — and all the more so on Saturday, which was Latin Night.
“My heart breaks,” Colon Gomez said. “We have seven friends who were there, and already we know three are dead.”
Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
His cousins posted short, sorrowful messages on Twitter after learning the 22-year-old was among the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting.
“Rest in peace to my wonderful cousin,” read one. “May you rest easy in Heaven,” wrote another.
A friend on Facebook said Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz was known as Peter Ommy, the name relatives and friends used on social media.
Peter Ommy’s Facebook page said he attended high school in New Jersey until 2013 and now worked at UPS in Orlando. He spoke both English and Spanish, according to his profile, and had lived in Africa.
His Facebook page — changed Sunday to read “Remembering Peter Ommy” — is full of snapshots, interspersed with nature photos of clouds, flowers and jellyfish. His profile photo from June, 2015 was his face with the gay pride flag superimposed over it, a Facebook option many chose to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that gay marriage was legal.
Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel
Luis S. Vielma, 22
An attraction operator at Universal Orlando, Luis Vielma always went above and beyond for the park’s guests — and his friends.
“He was always a friend you could call,” said Josh Boesch, who worked with Vielma at Universal. “He was always open and available.”
Vielma, 22, posted on social media about going to Pulse the night he died, Boesch said.
Vielma’s family couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday, but dozens of friends mourned his death on social media. The last publicly posted photo on his Facebook profile shows a group of young people posing in front of Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom with the caption “True friends who become family.”
Vielma held several roles at Universal, said Boesch, including running the former Disaster! attraction and, most recently, the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.
Olga Glomba, who also said she worked with Vielma at Universal, wrote in an email that he was “always there, without fail.”
“He was a true friend,” Glomba wrote. “A funny, sweet, nerdy guy without a mean side. He just wanted to make people smile.”
Beyond Universal, Vielma also talked about his plans to become an EMT, Boesch said. Vielma’s Facebook page said he attended Seminole State College.
“He was always caring and he always wanted to learn more,” Boesch said.
Annie Martin, Orlando Sentinel
Kimberly Morris, 37
Kimberly “KJ” Morris moved to Orlando about two months ago.
The 37-year-old left Hawaii to help her mother and grandmother, who both live here.
She found a home at the Pulse nightclub, where she was a bouncer.
Morris was fatally shot while working at the Orlando nightclub early Sunday. She is the eighth identified victim.
“She was so excited. She’d just started working there and told me how she was thrilled to get more involved in the LGBT community there,” said ex-girlfriend Starr Shelton.
Shelton, 35, and Morris were together for more than a year and just recently separated when Shelton moved to San Francisco for school.
“She was such a great person and so full of life,” Shelton said. “I can truly say heaven has gained an angel.”
Narvell Benning said he and Morris met in college in Connecticut in 1997. They both played basketball for Post University, a private school in Waterbury.
“She was just the sweetest person. I can’t think of a time when I did not see a smile on her face,” Benning said. “I’m so thankful of the good memories I have of her. This is just unreal.”
Morris remained passionate about basketball and was a very active person who loved MMA fighting.
“I just remember after every single game she would give me a fist bump and tell me ‘Good game,'” said Benning, 38. “It didn’t matter how bad of a game it was, she was always there.”
After college, she moved to Hawaii, where she’d been living up until April when she moved to Orlando.
The two friends stayed in touch over the years and, when Benning heard she was missing, he got worried.
“I was just hoping she was OK, but I kept seeing that no one could get into contact with her,” he said. “Her mom called the hospital and her cellphone kept going to voicemail. I started to get this eerie feeling that she was gone.”
He got a call Sunday night from several of his college teammates that she died.
“I still can’t believe this,” he said.
Christal Hayes, Orlando Sentinel
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30
The words “Mommy I love you” were the first in a tragic series of texts Eddie Jamoldroy Justice sent to his mother.
He woke his mother Mina Justice at 1:06 a.m. CDT with those words, followed by “In club they shooting.”
The City of Orlando confirmed that Justice, 30, was among the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Mina Justice spoke with The Associated Press on Sunday as she awaited news on her son. Mina Justice told the AP that her son loved to eat and workout.
She said he worked as an accountant and lived downtown. The Orlando Sentinel is attempting to contact family members.
Mina Justice briefly spoke with her son during the ordeal. She then called the police.
Justice knew her son was gay and at a nightclub and over the next 45 minutes they exchanged texts messages.
“He’s coming. I’m gonna die,” Eddie wrote to her, Mina Justice said.
Eddie Justice told his mother that people in the bathroom where hurt
Eddie Justice told her he was trapped in the bathroom and that there was a shooter.
Mina Justice asked if the shooter was in the bathroom with Eddie.
Then at 1:50 a.m. CDT another text: “He’s a terror.” And then a final message “Yes.”
Justice and her family waited for hours for word on her son, according to The Associated Press. The City of Orlando confirmed that Eddie Justice was among the dead.
Amanda Alvear, 25
Amanda Alvear loved taking selfies.
The 25-year-old from Polk County had reshaped herself over two years, shedding 180 pounds with the help of gastric bypass surgery and daily workouts. She proudly documented her transformation with her phone.
“Can you tell I look better? Can you tell I look cuter,” she teased her brother, Brian Alvear, 32.
Her brother’s house in Lakeland was flooded with worried friends Sunday because she hadn’t called her parents and that wasn’t like her.
“She was meticulous about calling home, letting my parents know if she was coming home, staying out or staying with friends,” her brother said.
Amanda had spent Friday and Saturday shopping with Brian’s daughters, Bella, 12, and Zatanna, 8. She had spoiled them with clothes.
“She was a fashionista. She liked to look good and she wanted my girls – her girls – to look good,” he said. “She liked to make them look very good.”
She went to Orlando for Latin night at Pulse with a crew of friends.
“People got caught in her wake,” her brother said. “Whatever she was doing, that’s what they were going to do and have fun doing it.”
One of her closest friends, Mercedez Marisol Flores, also died in the shooting.
Amanda was a graduate of Ridge Community High School in Davenport and worked as a pharmacy technician. She planned to be a nurse.
Her brother said she frequented gay and lesbian clubs because they were fun places and she felt safe to be herself.
“She wouldn’t want anyone to spread hate for her,” her brother said. “She’d rather they spread more love, keep friends and family close, and have a good time doing it.”
Enrique Rios, 25
Enrique L. Rios left his home in New York to spend the weekend celebrating a friend’s birthday in Orlando.
Gertrude Merced, Rios’ mother, doesn’t remember exactly what her son told her the last time they spoke on Friday, but recalls the upbeat inflection in his voice.
“He just sounded so happy,” Merced told the New York Daily News. “Enrique was a wonderful person.”
Rios, 25, was killed in the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning.
Family members remember Rios as a sharp, thoughtful and passionate person. His uncle, Eric Perez, told the Daily News that Rios was a “good kid” and a strong student.
Perez told the Orlando Sentinel that his family in New York was en route to Orlando Monday morning.
Rios was a social worker, according to his Facebook page.
Merced started a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising $4,000 to bring Rios’ body back to Brooklyn.
“My family is torn apart and all I would like is to have my son with me so he can [have] the funeral he deserves,” Merced wrote. “My son was a good kid. He was just having a great time on his vacation, until this deranged man came in and shot the place up killing 49 people and 30 in critical condition. Please help me bring my son home for a proper funeral.”
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33
Shane Evan Tomlinson sang with his band Frequency Saturday night at Blue Martini nightclub.
Tomlinson, 33, was a vibrant and charismatic lead vocalist for the cover band, performing at night clubs and weddings, according to videos posted on the band’s website and YouTube.
Tomlinson was one of the victims of the mass shooting Sunday morning, according to the City of Orlando.
The news was posted Monday morning and friends said they still needed time to process the news before responding.
According to his social media profile Tomlinson lived in Orlando and studied at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. and graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Tomlinson’s LinkedIn page says he graduated from Northwest Cabarrus High School in 1999.
Tomlinson’s band Frequency often performed at Blue Martinis, with three shows scheduled in the next two weeks at the club’s location in Tampa and Orlando.
Videos of his performances show Tomlinson as an energetic lead man, belting out popular hit songs and almost always well dressed at shows in button-down shirts, ties and vests. Frequency performed songs from the 1970s through 2010s with Tomlinson’s smooth voice leading the way.
Luis Daniel Lestat Wilson-Leon, 37
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37, who grew up in Puerto Rico, was a protector, confidant and hero, according to Daniel Gmys-Casiano, a friend for almost 20 years.
“We grew up in a really small town in Puerto Rico … and he was going to same church that I was, and he was always the odd man out. He was bullied constantly. He was different. He would dress in black, wear long sideburns,” Gmys-Casiano said.
Gmys-Casiano said Wilson-Leon was the first person he ever came out to about his homosexuality. He did not know that Wilson-Leon was gay.
“I had this feeling that, because he was different, I kind of felt that I could trust him with the information,” Gmys-Casiano said. “I sat down and said, ‘I need to talk.’ And he said, ‘Okay.’ And I couldn’t help it and I started crying.”
Gmys-Casiano said Wilson-Leon soon decided to leave Puerto Rico.
“He moved to Vero Beach, alone, and knowing almost no English – he was my hero,” Gmys-Casiano said.
He said Wilson-Leon was immediately promoted to manager at a shoe store and eventually gave him a job when he moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S.
There would be gaps in their long friendship, but Gmys-Casiano would call and, “I talked to him like I saw him yesterday,” he said.
“I think I gave him the courage to come out,” Gmys-Casiano said.
Wilson-Leon had been together with Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 and another fatality in the Pulse nightclub shooting, for about eight years.
“He’s been dealing with hate all his life. We all have. I have. He never retaliated with hate. He was a very loving person. He was strong. He would stand to protect his friends,” Gmys-Casiano said.
Jason Josaphat, 19
Like many 19-year-olds, Jason Benjamin Josaphat had many interests and was just starting to chart his path in life, according to his family — he was computer savvy, loved to work out and had an interest in photography.
“He was very excited about his journey,” said Josaphat’s uncle, Christopher Long.
Early Sunday, Josaphat called his mother from Pulse nightclub, family said. Someone was shooting. She told him to hide in a bathroom stall, while she called 911.
After an agonizing day of waiting, wondering and worrying, Josaphat’s family learned Monday morning that the young man had been killed, in what authorities later described as America’s deadliest-ever mass shooting.
Josaphat is the youngest victim yet identified.
“He was loved very much by his family,” Long said Monday.
Long said Josaphat had recently graduated from high school and had begun classes at Valencia College. He was studying computer science, his aunt and uncle said, but had diverse interests.
“He mentioned to me that he wanted to start taking pictures, he had a passion for photography,” Long said. “He was just real special.”
Long and Josaphat’s aunt, Josette Desile, described him as the quiet type, never one to bother anyone.
“He was always helpful, always willing to help someone in need,” said Desile. Added Long: “Never once has he ever shown any type of rage or anger. He was just high on life.”
Josaphat was an Orlando native with two brothers and a sister, the child of Myrlande Bebe and Jackson Josaphat.
“They both were very, very, very much proud of him,” Long said.
Sunday morning, when the gunfire started, Josaphat called Bebe. As she dialed 911 on another phone, she kept her son on the line, Desile said.
“She said she heard the shots getting closer,” Desile said.
The family spent Sunday trying to find out what happened to the young man, calling friends and posting messages on Facebook. They were sent home from the hospital Sunday night, returning Monday to tragic news.
“Everybody is just very, very hurt… You never think it would be you until it is, until it happens to one of your family members,” Long said. “Right now, the whole family is grieving.”
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
To Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, good living was all about looking, smelling and feeling his best, loved ones said.
The 35-year-old born in Puerto Rico hit the gym almost daily to keep himself in shape. He was always testing out a new fragrance and had just started wearing a fresh-smelling Jimmy Choo perfume. And his humor and warmth made him the best salesperson that his coworker at Perfumania had ever met.
“He laughed with the people and would make jokes,” said Claudia Agudelo, who worked with Perez at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets store. “He was always happy.”
One of the customers Perez charmed at the perfume shop was Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, who would become his longtime partner. The two were together at Pulse nightclub early Sunday when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of dancers and Latin music-lovers. Both Perez and Wilson-Leon were among the 49 victims who died in the attack.
Perez moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico when he was in his teen years, said his father, Angel Mendez. Adjusting to a new home was challenging at first, but it wasn’t long before Perez made friends and built a new life for himself.
“He was a real dynamic kid,” said Mendez, 58, of Orlando.
Agudelo said Perez met his longtime partner thanks to a specific fragrance: Declaration by Cartier.
It was the scent Perez sold to Wilson-Leon when he walked into Perfumania about a decade ago. The two men ran into each other again at a nightclub and soon fell in love, Agudelo said.
Perez, who lived in Kissimmee, liked going out for a night of partying, and sister-in-law Katia Mendez said she believes Pulse was one of his go-to spots.
But Perez also had a childlike side and was a fun-loving and doting uncle to her three kids, she said.
They wanted candy? Ice cream? Her children only had to say the word, and he’d get it for them, she said.
“He was like a little kid when he was with them,” said Katia Mendez, 37, of Kissimmee.
She and her husband learned Sunday night that Perez, the youngest of three brothers, died in the Pulse shooting. The family has opened a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
Darryl R. Burt II, 29
Darryl R. Burt II, 29, lived in Jacksonville, where he worked as a financial aid officer for Keiser University. He was one of the clubgoers gunned down in the early morning hours at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.
Vice Chancellor Kelli Lane said university officials have been in close touch with Burt’s family.
“Darryl was a highly respected employee and friend, and his contributions to our students and his colleagues will not be forgotten,” Lane said. “We extend our condolences to Darryl’s friends, family, Keiser University team members, and to all of those impacted by this tragic act of violence.”
He was an experienced human resources officer, having worked his way up from managing a McDonalds restaurant at age 18 to becoming a district manager and training officer for the company’s Jacksonville district.
In his role at Keiser, Burt worked closely with military veterans to make sure they had access to financial aid and other funding options. He served as a liaison to veteran students from enrollment through to graduation.
Burt belonged to the Jacksonville Jaycees, which is organizing a fund raiser to benefit his family. The organization posted the following message on its Facebook page:
“We Stand with Orlando as we mourn the loss of our own Darryl Roman Burt II. We are all deeply saddened by this tragic event and the loss of our Jaycee brother Darryl.”
Cory James Connell, 21
Teachers described Cory James Connell as the “sweetest kid ever” and “their all-time favorite.” His brother said he was the “super hero” of their family.
The 21-year-old was among the victims from Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando.
Connell’s brother Ryan wrote on Facebook that his grieving family lost their “super hero” and a “family man through and through” when his brother died.
“The world lost an amazing soul, today,” Ryan Connell wrote Monday. “God just got the best of angels.”
Cory Connell, a graduate of Edgewater High School, was studying at Valencia College and working at the Publix in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood, according to his Facebook page.
Friends who posted messages on Facebook said he wanted to be a firefighter and described him as “the greatest friend,” the one with a “bright shining smile,” and a “cool dude.”
Shelley Klein, a science teacher at Lee Middle School, said she remembered Connell clearly, even years after he’d finished there.
“I’ve taught almost 1,700 kids at Lee. He was so special,” Klein wrote. “All of his teachers at Lee adored him. We describe him as our all-time favorite.”
Other identified victims include:
— Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20
— Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
— Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32
— Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
— Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25
— Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
— Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50
— Amanda Alvear, 25
— Martin Benitez Torres, 33
— Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
— Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26
— Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
— Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
— Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31
— Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26
— Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25
— Miguel Angel Honorato, 30
— Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
— Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
— Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19
— Cory James Connell, 21
— Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37
— Luis Daniel Conde, 39
— Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33
— Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
— Jerald Arthur Wright, 31
— Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
— Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25
— Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
— Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
— Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
— Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
— Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24 years old
— Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
— Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
— Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
— Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
![By JONATHAN MATTISE (Associated Press) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Protesters chanted “Blood on your hands” at Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday after they passed a bill that would allow some teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds, and bar parents and other teachers from knowing who was armed. The 68-28 vote […]](https://www.dailypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Arming_Teachers_Tennessee_91001.jpg?w=525 "By JONATHAN MATTISE (Associated Press) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Protesters chanted “Blood on your hands” at Tennessee House Republicans on Tuesday after they passed a bill that would allow some teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds, and bar parents and other teachers from knowing who was armed. The 68-28 vote […]")
![By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who became a fugitive after a federal jury convicted him of assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison. David Joseph Gietzen, 31, of Sanford, North Carolina, struck a police officer with a pole during a […]](https://www.dailypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Capitol_Riot_Sentencing_35595.jpg?w=525 "By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who became a fugitive after a federal jury convicted him of assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison. David Joseph Gietzen, 31, of Sanford, North Carolina, struck a police officer with a pole during a […]")
