Orlando Mass Shooting Survivor Offers Chilling Account Of Gruesome Massacre After Being Trapped In Club Bathroom
The Pulse nightclub mass shooting left 49 club patrons dead and another 53 injured as a result of the gunfire that erupted over the past weekend. But, unfortunately, the truth is, all who attended the Orlando club on that fateful night will probably never be the same. Now, one man is sharing his chilling account of the ordeal that nearly claimed his life.
According to Radar Online, Miguel Leiva is lucky to be alive since many others who were trapped in the same bathroom weren’t so fortunate. During a recent interview, he revealed just how many people were trapped in the bathroom with him and why they opted to record the incident. For those who don’t know, footage captured during the shooting has also surfaced online.
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Devastating cell phone video shows club-goers hiding out in Pulse bathroom stall as they tried to kee… https://t.co/Z3vMr7nNR3— Dubai Life Coach – Lee Levy (@dubailifecoach_) June 16, 2016
While many people have wondered why someone would be filming for social media in the midst of chaos, Miguel Leiva has revealed the filming had nothing to do with capturing the moment. Most of the club patrons trapped in the bathroom were recording as a way to communicate with family members while trying to remain silent while trapped in the bathroom. They used their phones as a way to indicate they were safe.
“Fifteen or 20 of us, maybe even 30 of us, stayed in the stall,” Leiva revealed. “We just stayed quiet, and everybody’s phone kept ringing,” Leiva said. “The only way we knew to, like, let our families know, you know, we’re OK, we’re OK, was just to record it and let them hear that we’re trying to be quiet and send the video.”
VIDEO: Obama offers condolences to those affected by the Orlando shooting. https://t.co/zMsPaTgaLV
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 17, 2016
Just when it Miguel thought he’d survived the nightmare, he revealed Mateen actually returned to the bathroom a second time. Those who survived had to pretend they were dead. During the shooting, Leiva was wounded in the foot. “He kept coming back and shooting over and over. I was only shot in the foot at this time,” said Leiva.
Miguel Leiva also touched on the aftermath that followed the shooting. After the massacre, he admitted that they had to wait until local authorities entered the bathroom and find them among the victims that were fatally wounded at the hands of Omar Mateen. In order to evacuate, Leiva also revealed he, along with the others who survived, had to walk over numerous dead bodies, as reported by Radar Online.
“We were just waving our hands so they can see that we’re alive, but we were still trying to be quiet. So, finally, they start pulling people out, and it was so bad, like, we had to step over bodies,” Leiva said, adding tearfully of those who died, “Half of those people were in the bathroom with me.”
"He kept coming back and shooting over & over. I was only shot in the foot at this time" Miguel Leiva #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/uaA7NTflD8
— KIIS 1065 (@KIIS1065) June 16, 2016
Some of the disturbing clips that have been released reportedly include conversations between survivors, according to the Daily Mail. Leiva also described one of the cell phone clips he personally recorded that included a conversation with another survivor.
“She’s asking me, ‘Are all those people dead next to you?’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t get out,'” Leiva said. “There was one cup in the bathroom and we rinsed the cup, trying to give everybody a little bit of water.”
The latest reports detailing Miguel Leiva’s account of the Orlando mass shooting follows a number of other heartbreaking bathroom incidents that have also made headlines. As previously reported on Inquisitr, another man named Eddie Jamoldroy Justice contacted his mother, Mina Justice, from the club’s bathroom as he hid while gunfire erupted.
The Mental Health Trauma Of Pulse Shooting Could Go Far Beyond #Orlando https://t.co/FuXiEx0euo via @thinkprogress @ZackFord #WeAreOrlando
— TheTaskForce (@TheTaskForce) June 16, 2016
Eddie’s chilling text messages have caught the attention of many social media users who have mourned his death. The gut-wrenching text messages turned out to be Eddie’s last words to his mother. He told her that he loved her and that he was going die. Due to the magnitude of the damage inside the club, it took several hours for local authorities to identify the bodies. Justice’s death took more than 15 hours to be confirmed.
The Orlando mass shooting has sparked controversy for many different reasons because investigative authorities have been unable to provide a definitive explanation for Omar Mateen’s actions. While some news outlets have speculated that Mateen was a radicalized Muslim with ties to ISIS, others claim he was actually a closeted homosexual who battled with his sexual preferences. In fact, it has been reported that Omar Mateen actually frequented Pulse prior to the shooting, but his purpose for attending the club remains unclear.
"He kept coming back and shooting over & over. I was only shot in the foot at this time" Miguel Leiva #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/uaA7NTflD8
— KIIS 1065 (@KIIS1065) June 16, 2016
The investigation into the Orlando mass shooting will be ongoing. As of Tuesday, June 14, Omar Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, became part of the investigation when she admitted she knew of her husband’s planned attack, but withheld the information that could have possibly prevented the shooting.
[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]