Police have identified 48 of the 49 victims in Sunday’s mass shooting at a gay club, Pulse, in Orlando, Florida. As they notify next of kin, Orlando Police been updating its website with the names of the victims. Below are the victims who have been identified so far. Remember them.
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
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
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
The hashtags #OrlandoUnited, #PrayforOrlando, and others have been flooded with remembrances of the victims. Author J.K. Rowling tweeted about victim Luis Vielma, who worked at Harry Potter World at Universal Studios.
Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal. He was 22 years old. I can't stop crying. #Orlando pic.twitter.com/Nz2ZCWxNsS
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/relevanne/status/742353151064440832
Faces of the vibrant people taken during the #PulseShooting on Sunday. #OrlandoUnited https://t.co/aDMtnoYudy pic.twitter.com/hC2qI8cO2a
— Emilee Speck (@EMSpeck) June 13, 2016
Edward Sotomayor Jr. of Sarasota identified as one of the victims in the #OrlandoShooting at Pulse nightclub. #RIP. pic.twitter.com/92qU9qmUZ8
— Lynden Blake (@LyndenBlake) June 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/isaacstanbecker/status/742112812730880001
RIP Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22. His boyfriend Drew is still unaccounted for. #Orlando pic.twitter.com/YKr2ATcf7Y
— Matt Drapps – INVERTS 18/04 (@MattDrapps) June 13, 2016
Confirman muerte d un venezolano en la masacre d Orlando: Simón Adrián Carrillo Fernández d 31Años https://t.co/dbOXVVOsiu vía @AlbertoRT51
— ALnavío (@ALnaviocom) June 13, 2016
GLAAD has also introduced a Facebook photo filter so users can show their support.Accounts of what the scene was like inside Pulse are beginning to emerge. One man, Josh McGill, was hiding behind a car after escaping the club when he spotted 27-year-old Rodney Sumter Jr. wounded on the ground. He tied his shirt around his wounds to stop the bleeding and brought Sumter to police.
“So the police officer turned to me and said, ‘OK, this is what the deal is. You’re going to lay down in the back of that cop car and he’s going to lay on top of you, and I want you to bear hug him and try to keep all the pressure on him as you can.’ So I did,” McGill told CBS. “And they were like, ‘Also, like keep him conscious.’”
The Orlando shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The gunman, Omar Mateen, was an American citizen who, according to his ex-wife, wanted to be a police officer. She also says he abused her. The AR-15 that he used in the massacre was legally purchased.
We will update the post as more names are released.
Update 1:28pm CT, Jun. 13: This post has been updated to include the names of more victims.