Pulse victim's mother on FBI ballistics report: 'The public has to know'

ORLANDO, Fla. — More than two years after the Pulse nightclub shooting, survivors and victims' families are still left with questions.

Christine Leinonen, whose son, Christopher Leinonen, was killed in the rampage, has been asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its ballistic report for more than a year, but she hasn't received it.

The FBI told Channel 9 that the ballistics report is exempt from release because it could interfere with enforcement proceedings.

Channel 9 asked the FBI if possible crossfire was analyzed in the report, the agency said it couldn't specify what is examined.

Christopher Leinonen was shot nine times in his chest and in the back of his legs.

Christine Leinonen said she has always wondered if those bullets came from both gunman Omar Mateen and police.

"Ballistics may not show that, but it can show that right now, we don't know," she said. "Everything is a mystery, and ballistics may keep it a mystery, but we don't know. It may answer questions, and these are questions I was asking the FBI over a year ago."

Leinonen said she was given hope in April when she received an email asking if she wanted a copy of the ballistics report.

She responded, saying that she would like a copy of the report, but it was never sent.

Channel 9 received an email from the agency on May 7, saying that the ballistics report was complete, but that the necessary Freedom of Information Act paperwork would first need to be filed.

After Channel 9 did so, an email was sent, saying that the report wasn't releasable because it is only for law enforcement records.

"The public has to know. It's not just even a right to know. They need to know," Leinonen said. "With him dying, I want to know everything about it."

Leinonen attended the trial of Noor Salman, Mateen's widow, in hopes of learning new information about her son's death, but her questions about the bullets that killed her son weren't brought up during the proceedings.

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto told Channel 9 that families have a right to know. His office is trying to help Channel 9 obtain the report.

The FBI said Orlando police Chief John Mina had a chance to review the agency's findings, but nobody at the Orlando Police Department or the city of Orlando has a copy of the report.

Cox Media Group