ORLANDO, Fla. — The latest 911 calls released from the night of the Pulse nightclub terror attack give a different perspective from inside the club.
Some of the calls were from people who were trapped in a bathroom for about two hours, at one point with the gunman, Omar Mateen.
Caller: “Oh my God. Hurry up. He’s loading up. Hurry up.”
Operator: “He’s loading up now? Can you tell me what you’re seeing?”
Whispers masked the extreme desperation which would later become a loud call for help.
Operator: “Do you still hear anything now?”
Caller: “Yeah. I just hear screaming.”
Operator: “But no one’s come to the closet?”
Caller: “No. Not yet.”
Operator: “OK. Stay in the closet. Stay down and stay quiet.”
Trapped victims served as the eyes and ears, as dispatch tried to guide police to save as many lives as possible.
Special Section: Pulse shooting
In a call that lasted about 90 minutes, one man can be heard trying to calm down a group of injured and scared people in a bathroom.
Caller: “Be strong man, we got it. Just breathe. Breathe.”
Many of the people in the bathroom were on the phone with dispatchers as police broke through a wall to save people trapped in the bathroom.
Operator: “What’s going on?”
Caller: “They hit the wall. They came in from the side of the wall.”
Operator: “(Are) the police coming through the wall?”
Caller: “They’re coming from outside the bathroom wall.”
Shortly after, police stormed into the bathroom.
Mateen shot and killed 49 people and injured dozens inside the club on June 12.