The widow of the man who shot dead 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando nearly two years ago was acquitted Friday in US federal court of aiding and abetting her husband, officials said. Noor Salman, 31, faced life in jail on charges of lying to investigators and helping Omar Mateen, who also injured at least 68 when he opened fire at the club on June 12, 2016. (more…)
Tag: Orlando News
Get the latest LGBT+ Orlando news from THEGAYUK. Breaking news, features and interviews from the gay community in Orlando, USA.
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US jury acquits Orlando nightclub shooter’s widow
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Pulse gunman’s father revealed as FBI informant, but judge won’t dismiss case
ORLANDO, Fla. – Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, was an informant for the FBI for more than a decade before the 2016 mass shooting and is facing a criminal investigation in connection with money transfers to Turkey and Afghanistan. … Mateen made at work in 2013 about belonging to terrorist organizations. Defense lawyers for Noor Salman, Omar Mateen’s widow, argued the case against her… (more…)
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Pulse gunman’s widow said ‘I knew’ about husband’s plot, FBI agent testifies
ORLANDO, Fla. — In the hours after the massacre at Pulse nightclub, FBI Special Agent Ricardo Enriquez transcribed a statement from Noor Salman, the widow of shooter Omar Mateen. As he finished, he asked her to add a passage in her own writing, saying he had treated her fairly, he testified Monday. (more…)
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Pulse survivors, first officer at the scene testify in Noor Salman’s trial
ORLANDO, Fla. — Bobby Rodriguez was in the bathroom at Pulse nightclub when Omar Mateen opened fire, she said Wednesday, during the first day of testimony in the trial of Mateen’s widow, Noor Salman. “I panicked, I threw myself into the toilet seat and picked up my feet,” she recalled. (more…)
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Pulse Nightclub set to reopen
A little over a year since the tragedy that shook the LGBT+ to its core and there are talks of the Pulse night club reopening in a new location.
In June 2016 the lives of countless LGBT+ people and their allies were changed forever when a gunman opened fire in the Pulse Nightclub causing the worst single act of violence against LGBT+ people since World War Two. Forty-nine people were killed and over 100 were injured in the attack.
Now, a little over a year fresh talks on reopening the venue have been renewed after the owner of the club, Barbara Poma has suggested that she’s looking for a new location to reopen the club.
According to The Orlando Sentinel, a spokeswoman said that Poma is “looking for a location somewhere in central or urban Orlando.”
Shortly after the shooting it was rumoured at the owner wished to reopen the club, on the original site, but the idea was dropped. It now looks like the original site will become a permanent memorial or museum to LGBT+ history.
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Orlando Massacre survivor dies in tragic car crash
A survivor of last year’s ISIS attack on a gay bar in Orlando has died following a head-on car crash in Orlando.
Jahqui Sevilla has tragically passed away after a head-on car crash nearly one year on from the Pulse nightclub massacre which left 49 people dead. The 20-year-old college student died on State Road 417 when her vehicle drifted into the opposite lane and hit another car head-on. Both drivers were killed.
Sevilla survived last year’s terrorist attack on the Pulse nightclub. After the gunman opened fire, one of her friends was hit in the forearm, Sevilla applied pressure to the wound and stayed with the friend, helping her move to safety, outside the club where emergency services were able to help.
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Chilling Orlando shooter’s 911 calls released
The chilling recorded phone calls between the Pulse massacre shooter and the Orlando police department have been released.
CREDIT: WalterPro/FLICKR CC*THEGAYUK has made the editorial decision not to publish the Pulse massacre shooter by name.
A number of calls between the Pulse massacre shooter* and police dispatchers have been released today which reveal how calm and even-toned the shooter was during the siege which lasted over three hours in the earlier morning of 12th June 2016.
As the calls continued the shooter became more and more threatening and complained of the number of calls he was receiving by law enforcement, as the night of terror in Orlando unfolded.
Transcripts of the calls have already been released, but this is the first time the public can hear the audio.
Before he was killed, the shooter, used his calls to the negotiators to claim that the attack was the work of the Islamic State and used his conversations to warn the authorities that he booby-trapped the area surrounding the Pulse nightclub with bombs.
He also warned that in the days after his attack for America to expect more attacks, similar to his.
The recordings were made public after Judge Margaret H. Schreiber of the Circuit Court ruled in a case brought by The New York Times and other news organisations that the recordings should be made public.
The Judge will decide whether over 200 other calls from victims inside the club will be made available at a later date.
The pulse massacre was the worst gun attack in American history and the worst atrocity visited on the LGBT community since the Second World War. Forty-nine people were killed and a further 53 people were injured as the shooter rampaged through the club.
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Pulse massacre survivors will not be billed by Orlando Hospitals
Survivors of the Pulse massacre in Orlando will not have to pay for their hospital bills – some of which run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
CREDIT: WalterPro/FLICKR CCIt has emerged Orlando Health and Florida Hospital will not bill the survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre. The families of nine people who died after arriving at Orlando Regional Medical Center will also not be billed. The Orlando Regional Medical Center treated 44 of the victims from the atrocity in June.
Victims who were treated at Florida Hospital, which treated 12 people after the attack will not be billed even if they have medical insurance.
In total it is estimated that the hospitals could forgo $5.5million in medical billings.
Forty-nine people died when a shooter entered the gay nightclub and opened fire in what was to become America’s worst mass shooting. Fifty-three people were wounded.
Orlando Health President and CEO David Strong said,
“The pulse shooting was a horrendous tragedy for the victims, their families and our entire community,
“During this very trying time, many organizations, individuals and charities have reached out to Orlando Health to show their support. This is simply our way of paying that kindness forward.”
Survivors have welcomed the news as many of their healthcare bills ran into the tens of thousands with one victim facing a bill of $20,000 for a seven-hour treatment.
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Not a dry eye in the house as Jessie J sings in memory of Orlando gun massacre victims
There was not a dry eye left in the house after Jessie J took to the stage to sing an emotional tribute to the victims of the Orlando, Pulse nightclub shooting.
CREDIT: © bossmoss DepositphotosJessie J was just one of a number of celebs to take part in a benefit concert for the victims, families and survivors of the Orlando gun massacre in June this year.
Jessie J performed a version of her song “Who You Are” and special slowed down version of her hit “Domino”.
She told the crowd,
“Thank you for being so brave, thank you for not giving up … All we need is love and hope and freedom. I pray for hope. I pray for change.”
For over twelve years, Pulse was a destination that welcomed everyone and embraced the LGBTQ community. It had been a place immersed in joy and music, and one that united Orlando’s diverse communities. Founded by Barbara Poma and Ron Legler in the memory of Barbara’s late brother, John, who passed away in 1991, the name Pulse was chosen to keep his pulse beating on. Pulse Nightclub in turn became the heartbeat of Orlando and the spiritual home of the LGBTQ community.
On June 12th, 2016 Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in US history. The tragedy took 49 lives, and injured 53 others, and left a deep wound in both the Orlando community and around the world.
The onePULSE Foundation is the official 501(c)(3) incorporated by the owners of Pulse Nightclub. Its mission is to provide financial assistance to the victims affected by the attack at Pulse Nightclub. Through the end of 2016, it will contribute 90% of funds raised to the National Compassion Fund, with the remainder contributing to the creation of a permanent memorial at the existing site of Pulse Nightclub, which will ultimately provide a sanctuary of hope dedicated to the lives affected and taken by the tragedy in Orlando, FL. on 06/12/2016.
If you’d like to donate to onePulse please text ‘PULSE’ to 91999.
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Orlando shooter autopsy shows he was shot 8 times before being downed
The autopsy report of the Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen has revealed that he was shot 8 times before cops finally downed him.
Eights shots to the head, chest, abdomen, lower leg and foot were recorded by the Orlando County medical examiner’s office, as Florida’s law enforcement fought to bring down shooter Omar Mateen during his murderous rampage through the Pulse nightclub in which he killed 49 people and injured a further 53.
The SWAT team, which comprised of 13 people engaged the shooter at just after 5:00AM on the 12th June, and fired 150 bullets when they breached the back wall of the Pulse nightclub.
The Sentinel reported that the eight bullets passed “through and through and the majority entered his body from front to back, suggesting he was shot while facing police, likely during the standoff.”
The 17-page autopsy reveals that he had no drugs or alcohol in his system – but anabolic steroids was found in his urine.
The autopsy reports of 31 of his victims have also been released with the remaining 18 due for release in the forthcoming weeks.
The autopsy reports of the victims released include: Akyra Murray, Christopher A. Leinonen, Christopher Sanfeliz, Darryl Burt, Eddie Justice, Edward Sotomayor, Enrique Rios, Eric Ortiz Rivera, Jason Josaphat, Javier Reyes, Jean Mendez Perez, Jerald Wright, Juan Chavez-Martinez, Joel Rayon Paniagua, Jonathan Camuy Vega, Juan Chavez-Martinez, Juan Rivera Valazquez, Kimberly Morris, Luis Conde, Luis Ocasio Capo, Luis Vielma, Luis Wilson Leon, Martin Benitez Torres, Mercedez Flores, Miguel Honorato, Oscar Aracena Montero, Paul T. Henry, Peter Gonzalez Cruz, Shane Tomlinson, Stanley Almodovar, Xavier Serrano Rosado and Yilmary Rodriguez-Solivan.
ALSO READ: Editor’s letter: The Orlando shooter took our last safe space
ALSO READ: FBI find no evidence to suggest the Pulse massacre was a hate crime
ALSO READ: The US senate blocks gun control to known terrorists just days after Orlando shooting
The FBI are still investigating the attack. According to 911 phone transcripts released after the attack Mateen swore allegiance to ISIS.
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EDITOR’S | Orlando gunman took our last safe space
On the 12th June, the lives of countless people changed forever as a lone gunman walked into a gay bar in Orlando and shot 49 people dead and injured 53 more. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in America’s history and it was the worst atrocity visited upon the LGBT community this century.
For days after I couldn’t bring myself to read about the tragic events. Like many of you reading this, I have been in a gay club at last orders and when the fluorescent house lights blast on to send us, drunkenly blinking into the early morning on our merry way home. To imagine the horrifying scenes unfolding was, and is still, just too much to bear.
I was in the US when the attack happened. I was enjoying a gay street festival in one of Chicago’s gay-friendly neighbourhoods. There was laughter, there was joy and there was a real community spirit. Despite hardly knowing anyone at the festival, I was made to feel welcome, I was quickly made to feel part of ‘the club’. I imagine this to be the spirit that was in Pulse that night. That joy will be now forever tinged with sorrow and fear. As a friend so eloquently put it to me, just hours after the attacks, “f***ers… now they’ve taken away the only safe spaces we have.”
Some in the media were hesitant in calling this a homophobic attack, but make no mistake it was a heinous homophobic attack. Right at the centre of the gay community. Gay bars and clubs have long been the heart of the community. Their history is undeniable. They bring people together, they are often the first place we feel able to be ourselves. Sure they can be the home of drama but they are always full of laughs, loves and the birthplace of our political movement.
The gunman specifically went there to kill members of the LGBT community.
Whatever the gunman’s motives; hatred of gay people, terrorism or internalised homophobia, his target was a safe space for LGBT people and their allies.
Many of us felt that it was coming. An attack event against LGBTs was, you could argue, just a matter of time. The violence in Orlando had horrifying echoes of the terror attack in Paris last November. In fact after the attack on the Bataclan, which was chosen by the terrorists because it was where “hundreds of idolaters were together in a party of perversity”, I asked gay club and bar owners across London what their response to threat would be.
Sadly no answers were forthcoming.
So we have to keep our eyes and ears open and we must remain alert. We have to ensure our safe spaces remain open – wide open. We can’t let hate close us down. We can’t let hate shut our doors. Those 49 brothers, sisters, children, lovers and friends whose lives were brutally cut short will be forever etched in our hearts. They, like all victims of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic abuse will become one more link in our chain, one more stepping stone on our journey and one more reason to fight for equality and freedom across the world.
This is taken from Issue 21 of THEGAYUK – download now for free or subscribe to never miss another issue.
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