Written by | Ray Cornelius
The “deadliest mass shooting in American history” occurred in my hometown of Orlando, Florida in the wee hours of Sunday (June 12). 29-year-old Omar Mateen, of Port Saint Lucie, Florida walked into the Pulse Night Club, an LGBTQ establishment and began shooting into a crowd of mostly Hispanic and African-Amercian attendees, killing 49 and injuring nearly 50 others.
It just so happens that I am in Orlando visiting my family when this tragedy occurred and it has truly left me in shock and speechless. We literally had just experienced a horrific shooting incident on Friday evening involving “Voice” singer Christina Grimmie, who was gun down by Kevin James Loibl, after her performance at The Plaza Live Theatre. Now Orlando, which is affectionately known as “The City Beautiful,”is facing its biggest and ugliest tragedy to date.
So after a few words of prayer and a conversation with my sister in media, Rose Scott, I decided to deviate from my normal coverage of arts, entertainment and celebrity news and focus my efforts on covering the horrible event. I had never covered news of this nature before, but felt it was my duty as a member of the press and a native Floridian to go and report this from my perspective. What I found in my research were three unique stories of tragedy and hope I will never forget.
Upon reaching the Pulse Night Club, I noticed several Orlando police officers and at least two helicopters hovering above the crime scene area. Yellow crime scene tape was blocking off several streets leading up to the club and it appeared that metal fences were going up as well. I could see several different media outlets from around Florida all camped out near a Subway restaurant. Other photographers and non traditional journalists were also present trying to talk to potential family members or night club attendees. There was also an overwhelming sense of sadness as many of us were informed that all of the bodies of the slain were still in the club and that none of them had been removed.
While there, I ran into a frantic duo, Sara Lopez and her friend Maria, who were both looking for their life long friend, Franky “Jimmy” DeJesus Velazquez. Unfortunately, no one had heard from him after the incident and it was said that he was last seen lying on the floor of the club, by another friend who apparently made it out at the time of the shooting.
When asked what her last conversation was like with Jimmy before the incident, Lopez replied.
“The last conversation with Jimmy was that he was asking me to forgive him. You know, one of those things that you do in a friendship and I was like ‘I don’t miss you no more.’ And he said, ‘Its ok, whenever it passes just call me.’ He also sent me a text that said, ‘Whatever time I still have left in this world, I want to spend it with you.'”
Lopez went on to say that the two joked with each other a little further on social media and that was the last communication she had with him. Lopez’s friend, Maria, sent me the above photo of Jimmy with his mother. She also informed me that Jimmy’s family members had been contacted and that they were on their way to the U.S. from Puerto Rico. (Unfortunately, I found out today that Jimmy’s body was identified as one of the 49 shooting victims at Pulse.)
Another person of interest that I spotted near the Pulse Night Club, was Hassan Shibly, a Muslim attorney and executive director of CAIR Florida (The Council on American-Islamic Relations). He and several members of his organization were very eager to talk to the press about their stance on the tragedy. Mateen, the Pulse shooter, was reportedly linked to the Islamic, radical group ISIS and was allegedly inspired by their message of hate. It is also being reported that Mateen had a major issue with the LGBTQ community in Port Saint Lucie. Shibly, however, assured me that his views and the views of his organization were totally opposite of the shooter.
“I want to make it very clear that we stand in solidarity with the members of the LGBT community and our fellow Americans especially at this tragic time, when over 50 of our fellow Americans were killed in cold blood by a disgusting criminal. There is no justification for these crimes against humanity. We have to stand united and can’t allow fear and hate to divide us or turn us against each other as Americans or perpetrate a further cycle of violence,” said Shibbly.
He also informed me that CAIR had started a fundraising page to help financially support the victims of Pulse and their families at LaunchGood.com/Orlando. (Since our conversation, CAIR has already raised close to $43,000 of their $50,000 goal.)
The last person of interest that I spoke to was Greg Marcheck. He appeared to be a local artist, who decided to use his creative talents to bring about hope and peace. He painted a banner just outside the Subway restaurant that allowed individuals to leave their “mark” or hand print as sign of support and unity.
“I wanted to create something where people could show their support in the physical and show something artistically that we care. It wasn’t about just posting something on Facebook or sitting at home behind a desk and at our computers. I wanted to show something that brought people together and to show that we are unified in the support of the victims and against terror,” said Marcheck.
At the time of our interview, Greg also indicated that he didn’t know any victims but could very well find out later that he did. For now, he was content to just do his part.
After compiling my stories, I also found out that my former neighbor’s son was actually at Pulse on Sunday night and had been separated from one of his best friends, who was now missing. He appeared distraught and deeply sadden by the event and was desperately trying to locate his friend. Sadly, it was revealed that Eddie Jamaldroy Justice, was one of the 49 victims and was also the young man, who text his mother from the night club’s bathroom, that he was “trapped and going to die.” Justice was only 30-years-old.
Again, this is not my typical entertainment news post. However, I felt that I needed to do something to commemorate this event and tragic moment in our history. I also rally with the countless others around the world who are standing with Orlando and pray that the city will move on and continue to be the resilient city Mayor Buddy Dyer has proclaimed it to be.
Stay tuned…
Photo Credits: RayCornelius.com