LIVING NIGHTMARE: Cell Phone Footage Shows Orlando Nightclub Patrons Huddled Inside Cramped Bathroom During Gunman’s Shooting Spree — SEE THE VIDEO
Huddled in a cramped, red-tinted bathroom for four hours, some clubgoers at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub prayed for survival admidst the “devillish laugh” of Omar Mateen — until they witnessed the police shootout that ended their nightmare, a survivor said.
A cell phone video obtained by Orlando station Local10 gives the first glimpse of the shelter that saved lives during the deadliest shooting in modern American history. Up to 30 people hid in the gay club’s bathroom stalls as Omar Mateen murdered and wounded dozens of people — while laughing, and telling the others they would die next.
In the massacre’s final moments, Mateen stormed the bathroom and opened fire on SWAT team officers and civilians — bringing his death toll to 49 before authorities shot and killed him.
One of the survivors, Miguel Leiva, said of the victims: “Half of those people were in the bathroom with me.”
Leiva, a 29-year-old from Miami, told Local10 that he was visiting his girlfriend in Orlando when a friend invited him to Pulse.
As gunfire erupted right before closing time, Leiva and small group of clubgoers ran to the bathroom — where they’d remain for the next four hours. Some were killed trying to get in.
“We just stood quiet, and everyone’s phone kept ringing,” he recalled.
“The only way we knew to let our families know ‘we’re okay, we’re okay,’ was just to record it and let them hear we’re trying to be quiet and send the video.”
Footage from Leiva’s phone shows them bunched together, trying to keep silent — but still crying. They held each other in an effort to provide comfort.
There was one plastic cup in the bathroom. They all passed it around through the early morning, rinsing it out to make sure everyone could get a sip of water.
As tbey took refuge, Leiva said, Mateen terrorized them from outside.
He yelled: “Everybody come out! Everybody’s gonna die!” And as he kept shooting in the club, he kept laughing — “a devilish laugh,” Leiva remembered.
But Mateen mostly ignored the hostages in the bathroom — until he suddenly came in shooting.
Leiva, a 29-year-old from Miami, told Local10 that he was visiting his girlfriend in Orlando when a friend invited him to Pulse.
As gunfire erupted right before closing time, Leiva and small group of clubgoers ran to the bathroom — where they’d remain for the next four hours. Some were killed trying to get in.
“We just stood quiet, and everyone’s phone kept ringing,” he recalled.
“The only way we knew to let our families know ‘we’re okay, we’re okay,’ was just to record it and let them hear we’re trying to be quiet and send the video.”
Footage from Leiva’s phone shows them bunched together, trying to keep silent — but still crying. They held each other in an effort to provide comfort.
There was one plastic cup in the bathroom. They all passed it around through the early morning, rinsing it out to make sure everyone could get a sip of water.
As tbey took refuge, Leiva said, Mateen terrorized them from outside.
He yelled: “Everybody come out! Everybody’s gonna die!” And as he kept shooting in the club, he kept laughing — “a devilish laugh,” Leiva remembered.
But Mateen mostly ignored the hostages in the bathroom — until he suddenly came in shooting.
Authorities had warned those in the bathroom that they were about to hear a detonation.
“Lay low,” they warned.
The SWAT team drove an armored car through a club wall and sent off two flash-bangs to distract the killer.
The sudden siege sent Mateen into the bathroom, spraying bullets in his final moments.
He killed several more people and wounded Leiva with two gunshots, with one hitting him in the shin.
When it was over, the officers slowly helped the hostages out, Leiva said — and they had to “step over dead bodies.”