After Pulse: Coretta Cotton

Posted on by Thor

Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12, 2016. It contains sensitive and difficult to read content.

Coretta Cotton is the assistant director at UCF Victim’s Services. After the Pulse nightclub shooting, UCF Victim’s Services provided advocacy to victim’s families and survivors as well as relief efforts to the UCF community as well.

Advocates are on call for a week at a time. She happened to be on call on the day of the shooting. The director called her around 6AM. Coratta was going to church but the director asked her to be aware that there had been a shooting in Orlando. At that time the number of dead was reported to be eight.

Coretta was asked to report to Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC). When she got to ORMC, the hospital was in lock down. There was no one in the bays. Initially ORMC didn’t know what to do with her. She was asked to go to a big room where they were holding the families and survivors who were waiting to hear something. Everyone was being checked in.

People who were injured but well enough to text loved ones were being re-united with their families upstairs. At some point, Coretta began to work with an agent from the FBI to do death notifications. There were nine notifications that had to be done. These nine were at the hospital, while most of the others were still at Pulse.

So Coretta along with some advocates from the Orange County Sheriffs office, worked with the FBI to do death notifications. Even then the number kept rising. It was 8 then it was 20 something and then it finally reached 49. Everyone was frantic to learn what was going on with their loved one.

A separate area was set aside to meet with the families. The officer from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) actually delivered the news. Advocates were on hand mostly for support. After the first or second family got the news people realized it would not be good to go to this meeting. There were a couple of families that only spoke Spanish but the Sheriff’s advocate could speak Spanish.

She was probably at ORMC from 7am to about 3:30pm. There was no break. The gravity of the day didn’t hit until she drove home. That level of grief is something she hopes she never has to face again on that scale.

Pulse Victims Services: Christine Mouton

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Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12, 2016. It contains sensitive and difficult to read content.

Christine Mouton is the director of UCF Victims Services and the regional coordinator of the Florida Crisis Response Team for the 9th and 10th Circuit. After the Pulse tragedy UCF Victims Services and Florida Crisis Response Team provided aid to victim’s families and survivors.

Christine got a phone call about a shooting at Pulse.  She immediately called her on call advocate, and she directed her to go to the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC). The advocate actually lives close to the medical center. She then proceeded to call her other staff. She managed to get three advocates down there. Then she called her community partners. She called an advocate from the sheriff’s office, she got contact information for the Victim’s Service Center which is a non-profit. They were able to provide some extra support.

An advocate helped identify the nine families who were destined to get the initial death notifications at ORMC. The doctor had to provide the death notification since he had witnessed the death, so a room was set up. Once families went in the room and came out traumatized it became very clear you did not want to go into that room. The advocate was put in charge of convincing families to go into the room. In those kind of moments people respond in terribly different ways. You can not predict how someone is going to respond. Some people just shut down, some are angry and aggressive, and you have to accept that. They have to come to accept the thing they never wanted to hear. Once the family heard the news, the advocates job then, is to provide families with the right options to empower them to make the best choices moving forward.

After Pulse: Catholic Charities

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Gary Testor executive director of the Catholic Chrities of Central Florida, went to mass the morning after the Pulse Nightclub shooting. He head that there had been a shooting but the information was sketchy at the time. At about 10:15AM he got a text message from the chancellor of the dioceses, Carol Brinati, that Deacon David Grey was going to call. The call came at about 11am. David was at the Hampton Inn with other clergy. He needed counselors. Ten minutes later he called back and had realized that there was a need for Spanish speaking professionals.

It was chaotic at the Hampton inn and translators were needed. Gary called Debbie Cruz to arrange to get translators on site by 1pm.

Joel Stinera,was called by Debbie and then Rosa. He drove down to the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and arrived about 2 or 3pm. Family were waiting for news about their loved ones who may have been shot. It was crowded and disorganized. The experience was overwhelming and sad. He tried to comfort the family’s and friends of the victims.  Someone stood at a podium and started reading the names of the people at the hospital. After the list was read they said, “Well, if your family member wasn’t mentioned, they didn’t make it.” This was all in English. Many did not understand. Family cried. When family actually got news the chaos got worse. That experience marked him for life.

Julio Rivera saw the news on Facebook. His family began to call checking to see if he was OK. He flipped on the TV and couldn’t believe what he saw. Debbie Cruz contacted him and asked him to get downtown as well. People met at the Catholic Charities office and they went together to the Hampton Inn Hotel. They entered through the back door of the hotel. There was no security. They walked a long hallway with people crying, yelling and laying on the floor. He recognized some people, including former clients and talked to them. A doctor of director from hospital announced the names. The victims were in two different hospitals. The first names were people who were in stable but critical condition. Every announcement was in English. No one was translating. Julio tried to shout his translations over the chaos.

The second round was names of people at ORMC, in critical condition. People were advised to talk to a representative, but again this as all in English. People shouted, “Shut up we can not hear!” If a name was not announced then they did not have information about that person or they are deceased. When the translator announced that true chaos broke out. There was screaming crying and people hitting the walls. There was a lady on the floor and he gave her a bottle of water and tried to comfort her. The chief or police got u to the podium and said he understood the situation. He asked for time because they were still investigating. By that time no one was listening. It isn’t what you say, but how you say it and there was no compassion in the announcements. People who heard their loved ones names left for the hospitals. Everyone else stayed and waited. There was some media inside taking pictures. Julio stayed until about 7:30pm.

Former Orange County Mayor Theresa Jacobs

Posted on by Thor

Advisory: Please note that this post is about the Pulse Nightclub Massacre on June 12, 2016. It contains sensitive and difficult to read content. Post written with narrator’s consent.  

Former Orange County Mayor Theresa Jacobs knew nothing of the Pulse Nightclub before June 12, 2016. She had driven past many times, but didn’t know it was a nightclub.

The events that unfolded in the 24 your after the mass shooting that took the lives of 49 Orlando citizens. The morning of the shooting her primary thought was, “This can not be happening.” Her husband woke her up. There was a sense of urgency. The next moment she was on the phone with a sheriff’s deputy.  It might have been abut 5AM. Her next thoughts were how quickly can I get out the door and what do we need to do. There is some comfort in being able to do something.

It was so unbelievable that something that horrible could happen. She remember when the numbers jumped from 20 to close to 50.

Parking was a nightmare as she and an officer looked for the command center. Walking down the street she saw a bloody tennis shoe. Her heart sank. The intellectual part of her shut down any feelings and she got to work. The Orange County safety director was on site. He is also an emergency room physician at Orlando Regional Medical Center. He wasn’t on duty the night of the shooting but he was with her on the ground.  Initially one of the concerns was, are there still people inside who might have a pulse and can still be rescued.  The building was not secure, there was talk of bombs. Her primary job was to inform the public. There was an unfolding trauma throughout the community and throughout the nation.

The next step in the process was to try and connect family members with survivors. They estimated it might take 5 to 7 days to go through the autopsies. Family members did not know for certain the status of their loved ones. One survivor was in the hospital in a coma. He did not have ID on him. Over the next two days they tried to determine who he was and how to contact his family.

She walked out to brief the media with Chief Mina. There were so many cameras. People were sitting on the street. When Mina announced the numbers people couldn’t believe it. Someone shouted out “15”. They had misheard him assuming it had to be 15 since the numbers prior had been 20. No one could comprehend the number.

Jan Vena and Belle

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This post is about the shooting that took place at the Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. It contains difficult content, so please do not read on if you feel you may be effected. 

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously. 

Jan Vena works at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and in her off hours she volunteers by offering pet therapy with Belle, her pet Collie. She found Belle at a dog show at the fairgrounds. She was walking through the grooming area and watched a lady grooming collies for show. She had a really pretty 4 month old puppy on the table. Jan asked about how she trimmed and brushed the pup and the handler was very helpful. They negotiated and Jan ended up taking Belle home that very day. She has been with her ever since. Collies overall are gentle and loyal.

Belle was given a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test and she passed with flying colors as a dog who could go out in public and behave. They said she was a trustworthy dog. The CGC is a basic acceptance certificate and it started Jan and Bell in pet therapy since the tester worked a therapy program. It sounded interesting, she worked at the hospital anyway and on her days off she could go in with Belle and see patients. Shortly after that Jan had surgery herself. She had one visitor and it was the German Shepherd. She had seen both sides of pet therapy and she wanted to be part of it. Now there are 48 dogs in the ORMC pet therapy program. The dogs have become accepted at the hospital. They do as much staff therapy as patient contact.

On June 11, 2016 Jan was home alone. Her husband was in China working on Shanghai Disney. It was an average weekend day with cooking, cleaning, and probably working on her collection of 200 orchids. She woke up and turned on the news. She wasn’t sure what she was hearing at first, with the news breaking every 30 seconds. She didn’t grasp the magnitude of it. Many had been shot. The numbers kept growing. She and her husband Skyped every day and he said, “I heard about the Pulse incident there.” He knew about it the same time she did. ORMC was just a few blocks north of Pulse.

The hospital called in therapy dogs individually at first. Since Jan was an employee and had a long history at the hospital and Bell had such a gentle demeanor, they were called in just 3 days after the shooting. Along with the Chaplin, Belle and Jan did visitations for anyone wanting to spend time. The environment was like nothing she had experienced before. There was a quiet dark shadow looming over the hallways. Security was everywhere. This was the place of all the action, but the hospital itself was full of remorse. It was cold, she felt lonely going in. Jan just wanted to do what needed to get done and not bother anybody or say anything wrong. It was difficult to discuss and probably shouldn’t have been discussed at that point. The investigations had to go on, security had to do their job, and Jan and Bell had their job to do.

Most of the injuries were so tragic that people weren’t let into shooting victims’ rooms.  She and Belle mainly visited with families who were in the trauma waiting area. They went to the emergency room where the staff benefited greatly because of what they had just been through.  Many doctors didn’t respond much, they were dealing with the everyday. Some got down on their knees and cried in Belle’s fur. If they were having a stressful day in the emergency room, it is amazing what touching a dog can do, some of the stress melts off. They didn’t know how long to stay. They stayed for a couple of hours that first day. It was stressful for Belle.

The news media was there in force. They had big boom microphones as well as lenses that were as close to the ER as possible. The trauma bay doors would open and close and they wanted a glimpse of someone, a story, a word, or someone screaming. Any little tid bit to take back to the station. It was irritating to Jan. These families were in such disastrous trauma, trying to deal, and they were pushing their camera in. The hospital finally had to park two big firetrucks in front of the entrance. Then the media had drones flying outside the windows of patients rooms to try and get a picture. Being on the care taking end, that was one of the most frustrating things. The media parked on Orange Avenue was from everywhere, with trucks, trailers, vans. and huge mobile units. There were news organizations from around the world parked down Orange Avenue. They exemplified the magnitude of the moment.

After working all day, Jan didn’t have the energy to bring Belle in for the evenings. She went on her day off and on weekends. Several of the shooting victims got to know Belle and Jan in the following weeks. Many of the families of shooting patients spoke Spanish. Jan doesn’t speak Spanish, but they didn’t need to speak. Belle did a lot of the talking. The families knew why they were there, and Jan understood why they were hurting and nothing needed to be said about it. Someone might be on the phone speaking Spanish and they would reach down and pet Belle with their other hand. It was just her presence that mattered and they were OK with that. When they were waiting and waiting for an answer or a test result, they were happy to see Belle. It got to the point where some families would ask for Belle and Jan to sit with them. They were very appreciative. There were also times when they weren’t up for it.

The work Jan and Belle did in response to the Pulse shooting was worth more than she could have ever imagined. She got back more than she ever gave. They continue to offer comfort to anyone who needs it.

Alex Barr, Pulse Survivor

Posted on by Thor

This post is from a personal account about the shooting that took place at the Pulse
Nightclub on June 12, 2016. It contains difficult content, so please do
not read on if you feel you may be effected. 

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

Alex Barr, from Atlanta, Georgia, is a survivor of the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub. He was a friend of Darryl Roman Burt II (DJ), who was a victim that night. They first met in college, and in 2016, DJ had just graduated. His ceremony was to be at the Orange County Convention Center. They arrived in Orlando the Friday before with friends and DJ’s family. They always supported each other. After the graduation there was a party with some of DJ’s cohorts, that is when three more of their friends showed up, Fred, Antwine, and Javád.

When they got back to the hotel, it was late and the three friends wanted to party. Alex was tired, having partied the night before and he just wanted to recover. DJ felt the same way. They tried to convince their friends to go out the next day, to just chill. Somehow they ended up going to Pulse Nightclub. He had been to Pulse about 3 years before. This was his second time there, so it felt familiar to him. Alex was surprised there was no pat down at the door. It seemed like a lot of Latin music, but they were having a good time.

Alex remembered saying on Snapchat, “I don’t want to be here.” He turned to DJ and said, “You fine?” and he said, “Yea, Yea.” They weren’t supposed to stay long, at most 10 to 20 minutes since DJ’s family was flying out the next morning at 5AM and he wanted to see them off. It was lively on the main dance floor. Alex, Antwine, and Fred were in the main dance floor and DJ and Javád went to the bar. Fred bumped into two people he knew. As they were exiting the main dance floor to get to the bar area, they sat for 5 or 10 minutes, getting ready to walk out.

The disc jockey said, “Last call for alcohol!” They were seated in chairs with their back up against the wall. They were trying to rush Fred, “Lets wrap it up, we have to go.” DJ said, “Are you all OK? I’m going to get this last drink. I just want to be sure you are all alright.” Alex said, “Yea, we’re good, we’ll be here.” About two minutes after he left they heard POP, POP. That’s when it began.

Alex, Antwine, Fred, and Javád were all in tune when they heard the sound of gunfire. Alex thought “Oh, somebody’s fighting, someone may have shown off and pulled out a gun or something.” They thought it was contained, because security was right there, there was a cop right at the door. But they heard POP, POP, POP, POP, the repetition of it. “OK it’s time to go!” They got up to get Fred and DJ, and that is when they saw the traffic, the rush and the screaming coming. They got shuffled down the hallway. Fight or flight kicked in. At that point Alex lost sight of Fred and Javád. He remembered that DJ was at the bar and hoped he was in this group of people. He forgot that there were two other exits from the main dance floor.

As Alex moved down the hallway he blacked out, a blur. He found himself in the hallway bathroom tucked back behind the main sink. Adrenaline pumped and the cadence continued, he could feel and hear the gun, the bullets getting closer and closer. Some people went in the girl’s restroom and Alex went into the men’s. They barricaded themselves in the handicap stall. Alex heard Antwine pounding on the door shouting, “Let me in! Barr let me in, damn it!” So he let him in. Everyone got down, hyperventilating.

For a moment they thought they were fine. It stopped. The next thing they knew there were bullets and the smell of the gun powder. That is what he remembers the most, the smell, not the sound, and trying to contort himself to get as far away and out of sight of what he had seen, everyone who was hit. He was wrapped around a sink, a tiny sink. In that moment he discovered what his body could do to try and survive. Antwine was right there with him.

They could hear the gunman across the way in the other bathroom talking, chatter, but then executing afterwards. Clearly they would be next, the best they could do was act like they were already gone, hide under some of the bodies and try to keep those who were injured as quiet as possible.

The gunman didn’t come across. He was talking, saying something about pledging allegiance and something about the flag. At that point they started texting families, “Goodbye.” Alex sent one to his mother, brother, and sister giving them his last words. He was sure the shooter was going to come, peak over the stall, and finish the rest of them off. But he didn’t. Alex told Antwine, “If God is real, this is the time, if these angels we were praying to exist, this is the time. I love you, its been a good ride, I guess this is it.” Alex texted
DJ who responded “I’m scared, I’m still in the building, don’t make any
noise.” He let DJ know he was in the bathroom, but DJ didn’t let him
know where he was.

He stayed contorted around that sink for an hour. He was expecting to die. Yet he didn’t. They began to whisper in the stall, and Javád’s head popped up out of nowhere. Alex and Javád texted Fred and DJ. “Did you make it out? Are you OK? Where are you?” Fred sent a text back that said, “Yea I’m fine, I made it out.” Then Alex texted Fred, “What about DJ?” Fred texted back, “Yea He’s fine.” The signals on their phone began to get spotty.

So it was just the three of them left, Alex, Antwine and Javád. DJ was good to go. Everyone was calling 911. Javád ended up on the phone with an investigator. They wanted pictures and a description of what was in the bathroom. How many were in the stall. There were 19 of them counting those who were expired outside the stall. Alex got advice on how to treat the injured from the emergency management person on his cell. She said she was a nurse. She said apply pressure. Their main goal was to keep people calm. They were respectful of the dead as well.

Another man, Angel, was able to crawl out and get to safety. The police yelled, “Get down! Show us your hands!” Angel yelled, “No it’s me, I’m OK!” They were able to get him out. They were happy, but the rest of them were not going to take that risk. At this point the gunman knew they were in the opposite bathroom and that some were alive. It had been 4 hours.

The investigator on the phone with Javád was prepping him, but withholding some information, perhaps to avoid tipping off the shooter. They learned that the shooter said he had bombs and planned to blow the place up. After all this, they were still going to die in an explosion. Another hour went by. Eventually they got wind of a rescue plan. They were going to blast a hole in the wall, and warned everyone to get down. There was a BOOM in another part of the building and then another BOOM. Later Alex learned that this was to distract the shooter so he didn’t know where they planned to get people out.

Then there was a huge blast against the cement wall of their bathroom and cement flew everywhere. A pipe burst with water spraying. They yelled for them to stop and they did. A machine was used to hit and hammer the wall. They called out, “You need to stop you’re crushing us, there is nothing but cement falling on us.” The head of a swat member looked in and yelled, Get out, Get out!” He had a gun pointed at them. They were still in shock. Those that were more mobile were hiked up and taken out.

They ran. All that could be seen were flashing lights, and people screaming, “Keep your hands up, get down, Keep your hands up!” There were a bunch of guns pointed at them because the police could not be sure they weren’t the shooter. The questioning began and Alex began to ask his own questions. “Where was DJ?” He looked around and tried to call. Well, DJ texted earlier. “Why wasn’t he texting now?” There were stories of people rushed to the hospital. Maybe DJ was in the hospital.

That is when Alex learned about Fred. Fred attempted to run with the crowd towards the restrooms. He exited the bathroom and tried to make a run for it and was hit critically in the arm. He had to have about 15 surgeries and was, at the time of this interview, at 85% with the use of his arm and hand.

No one could account for DJ but they remained hopeful they would get news later. They had to stay until the sun came up and then were bused to the police station for additional questions. They were soaking wet from the burst pipes and blood. In the main lobby of the station they were separated into two groups depending on which restroom they had been in. They were asked for personal information. The detectives leading the effort were very professional and sympathetic, which helped put everyone at ease. An officer drove them back to their hotel where they showered, but could not rest. They watched the news.

The next day they got Antwine’s car but didn’t have the keys for DJ’s car. They went to every hospital in Orlando looking for him. His mom, dad, and grandmother went to the Orlando Regional Medical Center where family members waited for news. They tried to be as proactive as possible. He had to be OK because of Fred’s text. Maybe DJ was one of the John Does? That evening, Alex saw DJ’s name scroll across the TV screen in the hotel room. He sat there for a moment, numb unable to react and then lost it. DJ had just graduated, a huge milestone for him, and now he was gone. His last words to Alex were, “Are you OK?”

Myrlande Bebe

Posted on by Thor

This post is about the shooting that took place at the Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. It contains difficult content, so please do not read on if you feel you may be effected. 

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

Myrlande Bebe is the mother of Jason Josaphat, one of the 49 people murdered at Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. Chelsea, her daughter-in-law sat with her. Jason was born on August 8, 1995 and was 20 years old when he died.  Jason loved to draw. He wanted to do 3D animation and also studied photography in high school. He studied at Valencia Community College for 6 months and then went to Southern Technical School where he made the president’s list and was on his way to becoming a CPA. He planned to travel the world and some day go to Haiti, which is where Myrlande was born.

“I never heard of Pulse until that night.” Myrlande explained. On June 11, 2016 she was working a 12 hour shift. Jason is one of three brothers. They were known as the 3 Js: Jamal, Justin, and Jason. Their sister Miriam had just flown in from Arizona to visit. Her birthday was on June 13th, so they were making plans to celebrate. Myrlande called Miriam before she got home and found out that Jason had gone out. When Jamal arrived home she asked him where Jason was. He didn’t know, so he called Jason and left a message. Exhausted from a long day of work, she went to bed, but she couldn’t sleep.

In the middle of the night her phone started ringing. Miriam picked it up and heard Jason on the other side. She shouted, “Mom, Jason is in trouble! Call 911!” Myrlande took the phone, “Where are you?” she asked Jason. He was panicking. “There are a lot of dead people on the floor, call 911!” She started screaming and Jamal asked, “What is wrong? Mom calm down.” On the phone Jason explained that he was at Pulse. “I’m in the bathroom, I’m trapped and I can’t get out.” The last thing he said was, “He’s coming,” and he got off the line.

Myrlande and Jamal immediately drove to Pulse Nightclub. The call had taken place around 3:25 am and the drive was around 15 minutes. They were outside Pulse from about 3:40 am to 6 am and felt that they had seen everything. They knew Jason was trapped in the bathroom and they both wanted to rush inside to get him. Police had secured the scene making that impossible. “It felt like I was in Iraq, it was terrible.” she said. “My heart was aching.” She saw a young man crying. He said, “I lost him.” She asked him what happened. “Some crazy man just started shooting at us,” he said. Anyone she met that night, she asked, “Did you see my son?” Everyone was crying. There was blood everywhere. “We saw ambulances taking people.” She had never seen dead bodies before. They would pick them up by the two arms and two legs and haul them to a truck. It was a disaster, a nightmare.

At 6 AM police said, “If you don’t see your family member here, go to Orlando Regional Medical Center, you can claim them there.” Myrlande gave one of the nurses Jason’s name and described a tattoo he had on his chest, which he had designed himself. She gave them a picture of her son. They couldn’t find him. They asked for his medical and dental records as well. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She and Jamal had to return home without knowing where Jason was.

That night she had a dream about Jason. She was in a market place with her daughter and niece. She looked up and saw her son. He had his favorite color on, which was green. She saw him far far away. She shouted his name and ran towards him. He passed behind a pole and disappeared. She woke up feeling anxious.

The next day she went to the Beardall Center. She sat patiently waiting to find out if her son was in a coma or if he was at the hospital somewhere. Someone asked to talk to her and they delivered the news. All the records she had given them matched. She found out her daughter’s birthday that her son was dead. Her daughter said, “Mom, I will never again have another birthday.” It was a nightmare for them all. It wasn’t easy to find out that her son had gone out to have a good time, and didn’t make it back home.

Myrlande later learned that Jason fought hard for his life that night. Jason had the courage to talk to the gunman. The last bullet Jason took shielded someone else. Patience Carter had been shot in the leg and Jason helped to keep her calm. Just before the bathroom walls were breached by police, the gunman started to shoot again.  Jason covered Patience with his body and took the bullet. Myrlande was told that he died instantly and didn’t suffer.

Myrlande Bebe

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Myrlande Bebe is the mother of Jason Josaphat who was one of the 49 people who died at Pulse on June 12, 2016. Chelsea, her sister in law sat with her. Jason was born on August 8, 1995 and was 20 years old when he died.  Jason loved to draw. He wanted to do 3D animation and he studied photography as well in high school. He studied at Valencia Community College for 6 months and then went to Southern Technical School where he made the presidents list and was on his way to becoming a CPA. He planned to travel the world and some day go to Haiti which is where Myrlanda was born.

“I never heard of Pulse until that night.” Myrlande explained. On June 11, 2016 she was working a 12 hour shift. Jason is one of three brothers. They were known as the 3 J’s, Jamal, Justin and Jason. Their sister Mirium had just flown in from Arizona to visit. Her birthday was on June 13th so they were making plans to celebrate. Myrlanda called Mirium before she got home and found out that Jason had gone out. When Jamal got home she asked him where Jason was. He didn’t know, so he called Jason and left a message. Exhausted from a long day of work, She went to bed, but she couldn’t sleep.

In the middle of the night her phone started ringing. Mirium picked it up and heard Jason screaming. She shouted, “Mom Jason is in trouble! Call 911!” Myrlande took the phone, “Where are you?” she asked Jason. He was panicking. “There are a lot of dead people on the floor, call 911!” She started screaming and Jamal asked, “What is wrong? Mom calm down.” On the phone Jason explained that he was at Pulse. “I’m in the bathroom, I’m trapped and I can’t get out.” The last thing he said was, “He’s coming.” and he got off the phone.

Myrlande and Jamal immediately drove over to Pulse. The call had been at around 3:25am and the drive took 15 minutes. They were outside Pulse from about 3:40am to 6am and they saw everything. They knew Jason was trapped in the bathroom and they both wanted to rush inside to get him. Police had secured the scene making that impossible. “It felt like I was in Iraq, it was terrible.” she said. “My heart was aching.” She saw a young man crying. He said, “I lost him.” She asked him what happened. “Some crazy man just started shooting at us.” he said. Anyone she met that night, she asked, “Did you see my son?” Everyone was crying. There was blood everywhere. “We saw ambulances taking people.” She had never seen dead bodies before. They would pick them up with two arms and two legs and haul them to a truck. It was a disaster, a nightmare.

At 6am they said, “If you don’t see your family member here go to Orlando Regional Medical Center, you can claim them there.” Myrlande gave one of the nurses Jason’s name and described a tattoo he had on his chest that he had designed himself. She gave them a picture of her son. They couldn’t find him. They asked for his medical and dental records as well. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She and Jamal had to return home without knowing where Jason was.

That night she had a dream about Jason. She was in a market place with her daughter and niece. She looked up and saw her son. He had his favorite color on which was green. She saw him far far away. She shouted his name and ran towards him. He passed behind a pole and disappeared. She woke up feeling anxious.

The next day she went to the Beardall Center. She sat patiently waiting to find out if her son was in a coma or if he was at the hospital somewhere. Someone asked to talk to her and they delivered the news. All the records she had given them matched. She found out that her son was dead on her daughter’s birthday. Her daughter said, “Mom, I will never again have another birthday.” It was a nightmare for them all. It wasn’t easy to find out that her son had gone out to have a good time, and didn’t make it back home.

Myrlande later learned that Jason fought hard for his life that night. Jason had the courage to talk to the gunman. The last bullet Jason took shielded someone else. Patience Carter had been shot in the leg and Jason helped to keep her calm. Just before the bathroom walls were breached by police, the gunman started to shoot again.  Jason covered the young girl with his body and took the bullet. He died instantly and didn’t suffer. Myrlande later met Patience and she said to her, “You shouldn’t feel guilty, it wasn’t your time.”

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

Meditation in the wake of Pulse

Posted on by Thor

In June of 2016 I became obsessed with sketching every wake, vigil, memorial and fundraiser devoted to the cause of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Every post at the time was about the shooting and the cities attempt to heal in the wake of the tragedy. To find some personal balance in my life I turned to meditation. I honestly hoped that the discussion on this day might be about the Buddhist teachings that might address such a tragedy. Certainly Buddhists must have thoughts that would shed some light on the feelings and confusion that follow mass murder.  I learned that the previous week had addressed those insights. The Mindful Medition Discussion Group meets weekly on Wednesdays behind the home of Peter Carlson (1818 Carrigan Avenue, Winter Park, 32789).

We all sat silently for an hour to meditate. My high blood pressure caused my ears to start drumming. I was concerned that my body didn’t allow for enough quiet for me to get lost in the moment. My legs started to ache so I shifted to a new position. I must be doing this all wrong.  I was biding my time until I could sketch during the discussion to follow. Despite my annoyance at my inability to find any semblance of peace, I was glad that I had taken the night to do something for myself. I hoped meditation might allow me to come to terms with what had happened at Pulse. That never happened. Conversation turned to the four noble truths, but my mind wandered back to Orange Avenue just south of the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

I returned to mediation many times in the following months to  keep trying. Glen Weimer, an old college friend offered me a chance to escape to Nantucket and it was there that some quite meditation on the beach finally brought me a moment of respite.

The Dali Llama‘s thought on violence seem to ring true. He teaches the universal human values of peace, harmony, and community… “If
we emphasize more on non-violence and harmony, we can herald a new
beginning. Unless we make serious attempts to achieve peace, we will
continue to see a replay of the mayhem humanity experienced in the 20th
century. We
need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values, of oneness and
harmony. If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will
be different from the previous one. It is in everybody’s interest. So let us work for peace within our families and society, and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments.”

So what can  I do? I have just one tool at my disposal and that is to sketch. Now two years after the attack, I am still sketching and listening to try and understand.

The Robot Strips Omar Marteen

Posted on by Thor

 There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

National media interest in the Noor Salman trial dwindled drastically on day two of witness testimonies. The national media might consider this case to be a consolation prize since the gunman Omar Marteen was killed at the club and thus can not be convicted. The prosecution entered the courtroom carrying long yellow boxes full of evidence. I wondered if the boxes were full of guns.

Special Agent Paul Castillo took the stand. He is a bomb technician who operated the robots that entered the club on the evening of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Mateen had made claims to a negotiator by phone that he had bombs, so special care had to be taken when clearing the club. The robot with a camera saw wires coming from under Omar’s body. The many bodies on the floor made navigating the robots through the club difficult. It was determined that the wires were from an exit sign that had fallen to the floor when the swat team blew a hole in the bathroom wall to breach the club and kill Mateen, not from a bomb within his pants.

Pictures from the robot showed Omar’s lifeless body with his face contorted in a grimace of pain. The robot manipulated the body and removed the gunman’s blood soaked pants. A Glock handgun was found near the body along with a knife. A robot was also used to check Omar’s rental van that was parked near Pulse. The gunman had claimed that the he had bombs and if the van was full of explosives it could have caused damage and devastation to several city blocks. The van was cleared by 10:30 AM.

The Orange County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Stephany‘s testimony was short and concise. He testified about collecting the 37 bodies from inside the club, one body from the club patio, along with two bodies in the parking lot behind Einstein Bagels. 9 victims arrived at Orlando Regional Medical Center dead or died shortly there after. All the victims were taken to the medical examiner’s office at Michigan and Bumby. The autopsy reports describe every gunshot would in terms of how the bullets entered the body and how they exited the body.

Officer Brett Chabot described his recovery of four receipts from a dumpster outside the home of Omar Mateen and Noor Salman. A dumpster is public property, so a warrant isn’t needed to do the search. Brett executed the dumpster diving.

He responded to Mateen’s home and was with
the team in charge of searching Mateen’s vehicle. He talked about receipts that were found
which where for hundreds of dollars worth of ammo, jewelry, and clothes just
days before the shooting. Just the fact that the receipts were being discarded tends to be incriminating, as if the couple were trying to get rid of evidence.

Omar was supplying assets for Salman since
she had no money of her own. The defense attorney arguing they were just
gifts since Mateen was getting a better job as a police officer. There was a heavy police presence in the Fort Pierce
area surrounding their apartment for the entire day. I saw video footage that the apartment had been broken into and foreign journalists wandered through the apartment taking pictures.