A man armed with an assault rifle killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early on Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in US history, a rampage President Barack Obama denounced as an act of terror and hate.
Edward "Eddie" Sotomayor Jr., 34-years-old
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
According to , Sotomayor was the national brand coordinator for one of "America's largest gay-owned travel company", in Sarasota, Florida.
The travel agency caters to the LGBTQI community planning cruises and tours for Pride Events, Gay Festivals, and circuit parties.
Sotomayor had been working there since August 2014.
He sent his friend, Al Ferguson, a Snapchat from Pulse nightclub before the attack, that was shared on Facebook.
Luis Arancibia, general manager at a Hilton property and friend of Sotomayor, told SBS, "Eddie" was a prominent person in the gay Latin community.
“Eddie was a loving, happy person who just knew everyone in our community. He was one of those people that if he didn’t know you were, he wanted to get to know you,” Arancibia said.
"If you ever needed anything he would be there for you.”
Arancibia regrets not reaching out to Sotomayor in the past few months; he said circumstances got in the way.
“Every single time you would see Eddie you would just feel better," he said. "Such a caring person and such a happy person – he’ll definitely be missed."
Stanley Almodovar III, 23-years-old
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Prior to Avella, Almodovar was a pharmacy technician at Walgreens and an intern in the same field at Target.
Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, Almodovar, who was openly gay, moved to Clermont, Florida in August 2003.
He was weeks shy of his 24th birthday.
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20-years-old
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Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22-years-old
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Guerrero was from Orlando, and was at the nightclub with his boyfriend, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen, on Sunday night, according to .
Leinonen was missing until last night when his body was identified. He is listed below. Guerrero's father told the couple will be buried in a joint funeral.
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36-years-old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22-years-old
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Luis S. Vielma, 22-years-old
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Kimberly "KJ" Morris, 37 years old
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Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
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Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Prior to working at Keiser, Burt's reads he was a general manager at McDonalds and a home store manager at Forever 21, both in Jacksonville.
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
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Drayton, who had faced felony charges on drug possession only last year, was turning her life around according to her ex-girlfriend of four years, Ashleigh Alleyne who told the .
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
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Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
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Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
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Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
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Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
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Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
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Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
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Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
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Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
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Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
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Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
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Cory James Connell, 21 years old
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Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
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Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
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Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
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Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
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Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
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Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
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Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
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Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
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Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
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Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
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Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
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Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
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Christopher Andrew "Drew" Leinonen, 32 years old
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Leinonen was a Detroit, Michigan native, according to his, and studied clinical psychology at the University of Central Florida.
His mother told thehe began a gay-straight alliance in high school and was awarded the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award for his work in the gay community.
The most heartbreaking video I've ever seen. Her son Christopher “Drew” Leinonen is among the dead. #OrlandoUnitedhttps://t.co/Fs5ei3OXUj — Eduardo Samaniego (@EduarSamani) June 13, 2016
Leinonen died a week and a half after his 32nd birthday.
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
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Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
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Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
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Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
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Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
“[I] only know of two, but to know that number can rise by tomorrow is terrifying,” a friend of two of the victims told SBS news.
Around 2am Sunday local time, a 29-year-old man carrying an assault rifle and a pistol entered Pulse nightclub and opened fire. The club was packed with up to 320 patrons.
About 30 people were freed after an armoured vehicle carrying a SWAT team broke down the club's doors.
The gunman, who was shot dead a few hours later during the SWAT operation, had reportedly committed the act of violence in the name of IS, pledging his allegiance to the terrorist organisation.
- With Reuters.
