Witness inside Pulse nightclub recounts acts of bravery

By: ABC57 Staff
Posted: Jun 13, 2016 12:44 PM EDT | Updated: Jun 13, 2016 12:47 PM EDT

Amanda McKenzie

Orlando, FL -- Firsthand accounts of what happened during the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub describe the terror and some incredible acts of bravery during the early morning hours of Sunday.

One witness describes how in a matter of seconds, the lively Latin night turned horrific and bloody, but when he realized he was not one of the victim's shot, he grabbed some of the injured to carry them to safety.

"I was right by the VIP with the lounge where the couches were and the guy next to me drops and there's blood," Christopher Hansen said. "I feel wetness and then I see behind me there's a bunch of people falling and screaming and then you're hearing that 'bang bang.'"

Hansen said he hit the ground and started to crawl out of the Pulse nightclub, located at 1912 South Orange Ave. in Orlando.

"They were just screaming, 'get out get out,' but you know when you see somebody laying there, bleeding, you can't just leave them," Hansen said. "So I put him over my shoulder and got him across the street."

Hansen said one man was shot in the back, but the bullet never went through.

"I took my bandana off to plug that wound to make sure - that guy's name was Junior - that he was able to not bleed anymore," Hansen said.

He said paramedics were quick to get to the scene and as word spread about the mass shooting, friends and family members arrived hoping to find their loved ones.

"My son's boyfriend - they saw him being transported into an ambulance with multiple gunshots, but my son hasn't been heard from so I don't know if he was left in the club, if he got shot, or if he's being worked on here," a mother said about her 32-year-old son named Christopher. "It's terrible he's my only child."

Identities of the victims are starting to be released as next of kin are notified.

The City of Orlando has created a new website that lists the names of the victims.

This is the list so far:

  1. Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
  2. Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
  3. Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
  4. Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
  5. Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
  6. Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
  7. Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
  8. Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
  9. Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
  10. Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
  11. Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
  12. Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
  13. Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
  14. Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
  15. Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
  16. Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
  17. Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
  18. Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
  19. Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
  20. Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
  21. Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
  22. Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
  23. Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
  24. Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
  25. Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
  26. Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
  27. Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
  28. Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
  29. Cory James Connell, 21 years old
  30. Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
  31. Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
  32. Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
  33. Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
  34. Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
  35. Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
  36. Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

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