News

Deputy's body cam video gives new glimpse into night of Pulse attack

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released body camera video Thursday from the night of the terrorist attack at Pulse nightclub.

Forty-nine people were killed and dozens injured when Omar Mateen opened fire inside the club on June 12.

Several of the body camera videos start out the same—a deputy going into the trunk of their patrol car to pull out a long gun as they approach the scene.

Squad cars can be seen lining the street outside the nightclub, where the second largest terrorist attack and the deadliest mass shooting in American history had just taken place.

'He has hurt a lot of people,' says Pulse gunman's wife in first interview since attack

Updated: ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - The wife of the Pulse nightclub shooter, Omar Mateen said she had no idea her husband would kill dozens of people. Noor Salman spoke with The New York Times in one of her first interviews since the June 12 attack.

At times, the body cameras go to black, signaling there were images of victims’ bodies near and inside the club.

One survivor described the horror to officers at a staging area near Orlando Regional Medical center.

Photos: Victims of Pulse nightclub

“Guy just started shooting everybody in the club, started shooting everybody. Everybody,” the survivor said.

What might be the most haunting—seeing the disco lights still going as deputies trained their weapons toward each and every room inside the club.

Deputies kept their guns on every exit outside, and every possible hiding place inside Pulse looking for victims and the shooter, as others put on gloves and prepared for the task of rendering aid to the survivors.

Cellphones littered the floor, lighting up as loved ones tried to call victims.

Officers were faced with the task of preserving as many lives as possible, while also preserving the crime scene.

“He started from out here. He started—yeah. There’s a victim right there,” said a deputy as he pointed toward the entrance of the club.

Pulse: The night of the shooting

That particular video was recorded on a body camera from sheriff’s deputies at the same time an Orlando police negotiator kept in phone contact with the shooter.

Another on-scene officer commented about Orlando’s new legacy as the site of a terror attack.

“We knew it was only a matter of time,” he said.

Cox Media Group

Most Read