The city of Orlando has released a tiny fraction of the hundreds of calls that were made to 911 dispatchers during the Pulse nightclub massacre.
Advertisement
In June, gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people and left hospitalized 53 others during the worst mass shooting in modern US history. The majority of the victims were LGBT people of colour. Florida’s law makes 911 calls a public record.
One woman who called 911 had made it out of the club just in time – but her girlfriend was trapped inside.
The desperate exchange offers a brief window into the evening a gunman stormed Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring dozens more.
At 2:31 a.m., a father in Tampa told operators his daughter said she was shot in the leg and arm, then stopped answering her phone.
In another, a woman told the operator that while she was waiting outside for her girlfriend to come out of the club, the shooting started.
The FBI approved the release because the calls are not part of the investigation, the Orlando Police Department said Thursday.
Advertisement
27 media outlets are taking legal action against the city over its refusal to release all of the calls, amid confusion about the timeline of the incident. The city has argued the calls are exempt because they contain audio of people being killed.
