Posted on 06/17/2016 6:48:45 AM PDT by Lorianne
Omar Mateen, the killer who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State, hid in a bathroom at Pulse, a gay nightclub where he had slaughtered scores of people. A wall of cinder block separated him from a team of police officers outside. For three hours early Sunday morning, crisis negotiators tried to end the siege.
Then Mateen — whom police said had acted “cool and calm” during discussions — talked about killing more people. Alarmed, police placed an explosive device against the wall and detonated it. The breach failed; the hole wasn’t large enough to allow for a successful rescue.
A cop rammed his Bearcat armored vehicle through the club wall. Hostages poured out. So did Mateen, guns blazing.
With quick efficiency, officers shot him dead.
So ended the worst armed massacre in American history: 49 victims were killed and 53 wounded.
Monday, Orlando Police Chief John Mina and other law enforcement officers offered new details about the shooting, including the possibility that some victims may have been killed by officers trying to save them.
“I will say this, that’s all part of the investigation,” Mina said. “But I will say when our SWAT officers, about eight or nine officers, opened fire, the backdrop was a concrete wall, and they were being fired upon.”
A law enforcement source close to the investigation who asked not to be named said a crowd of up to 300 people and the complex layout of the dance club may have resulted in some patrons being struck by gunfire from officers.
Mina said his decision to enter the club with such violence was tough. “It was a hard decision to make, but it was the right decision,” he said. “Our No. 1 priority is on saving lives, and it was the right decision to make.”
Local, federal and state investigators continued to process the scene Monday from a collection of law enforcement mobile command units that lined South Orange in downtown Orlando. Authorities determined Mateen, 29, walked up to the club at 2:02 a.m. armed with an AR-15 rifle and a Glock handgun.
An off-duty police officer working at the club Sunday night was investigating an underage drinker outside when he heard gunshots inside, according to the law enforcement source. The off-duty officer ran inside the club and traded gunfire with Mateen, backed up soon by three other police officers, the source said.
The officers fired at Mateen, who retreated into a bathroom toward the rear of the club.
“Those additional officers made entry while the suspect was shooting,” Mina said. “They forced him to stop shooting and retreat to the bathroom where we believe he had several hostages.”
Mateen called 911 three times from a bathroom he shared with hostages and pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State, a terrorist group also known as ISIL or ISIS.
He called dispatchers twice and hung up before they called him back, the source said.
“He was in one bathroom fortified with hostages,” Mina said. “There were people in the opposing bathroom, about 15 or 20 people. And the details are unknown, they’re part of the investigation.”
Orlando police crisis negotiators were called to the club and spoke with Mateen three times. He remained calm during the talks, but he made clear that his plan was to kill more people, Mina said.
“Based off statements made by the suspect and based on information we received by the suspect and from the hostages and the people inside,” Mina said, “we believe further loss of life was imminent. I made the decision to commence the rescue operation and do the explosive breach.”
A SWAT team failed to topple the exterior wall leading to the bathroom that held 15 to 20 people, so Mina made the call to use the Bearcat.
Officers wore combat-grade body armor and helmets as they rammed the bathroom wall, creating a small hole — about 3 feet wide and 2 feet off the ground — so the captives could escape.
“We were able to rescue dozens and dozens of people who came out of that wall,” Mina said. “The suspect came out of that hole himself with a handgun and a long gun and engaged in a gunbattle with officers where he was ultimately killed.”
Mateen wielded an AR-15 and a semiautomatic handgun he had bought from a Port St. Lucie gun shop a week ago. He fired at officers, striking one of them in his helmet before he was shot several times and died.
Dozens of bullet holes dotted the exterior concrete wall, evidence of the shootout that included dozens of rounds fired by officers.
The last exchange of gunfire Mateen had with Orlando police and Orange County sheriff’s deputies occurred at 5 a.m. and ended a three-hour standoff.
Orlando officers walked into the nightclub and found lifeless club patrons strewn about a bar and lounge area. More bodies were found in a nearby bathroom.
After seeing this, I am really wondering how many were shot by the cops vs the jehidi
If there were 4 Leos in the building trading fire, why did they not get the ‘300’ patrons out?
Should have just dropped a JDAM on the place.
Next, please.........
Militarized training not necessary. What they need is more time on the shooting range and training on "live-action" video (where it's like a video game & they "shoot" with pretend guns at a large screen of "actors" posing in various situations of when & when NOT to fire (as well as more accurately). Those cops in Orlando reminded me of those in NYPD cops, since they can't hit the broadside of a barn, they ineffectively spray bullets at anything & everything.
ISIL....but only if you are one of them.
I wasn't there so I don't know, but maybe they were pretty busy trying to discourage, stop, or kill a perp who was shooting at the public and then at them with a large capacity semi-automatic weapon.
Just sayin'
Supposed great marksman, but didn’t Omar buy the long gun just days before the attack? Do we have proof about his gun practice? Not a gun person, but don’t understand how one gunman buys a gun and days later is able to accomplish what he did. Really interested to find out the bullet count. Some were reported to have been shot 12 times. That is a lot of ammo.
I’m not buying the marksman crap. His shots were all “across the room” distance, no skills needed other than pulling a trigger.
If Mateen was "in a bathroom" talking to hostage negotiators then he obviously wasn't out in the main part of the club, nor did he have a line of sight to the main entrance. So there was nothing to prevent police from entering the front door and rescuing the wounded in the front part of the club. Once you have multiple people shot there isn't much point in negotiating with the killer for more than a few minutes.
And there was nothing to prevent them from closing on him from the inside of the club, or setting up an ambush for him outside the bathroom.
And there was nothing preventing them from storming the bathroom.
At this point I think we are hearing a lot of spin by the Orlando police to explain their gross errors.
The gun shop that sold him the firearms also gave some free range time with a purchase. Another shop patron on the range said Mateen was just firing as fast as he could, that he actually hit some wire or support and damaged the target holder.
As you point out, this makes the attempted comparison by the MSM of this murdering POS to the 99.999% of us gun owners who strive for tight shot groups and murdered no one last week even more absurd.
What difference does it make to you that a “detailed accounting” of police bullets make to you? So that you can have an addition to add to your “I hate cops” list?
You’re not interested in that? Blind acceptance? I don’t hate cops. But what I read doesn’t tell me that I should blindly accept the police version. It was at least 3-4 hours. Then they blow a hole, people spill out and bullets flew. You’re not interested in that?
Chuck a few CS grenades inside.
Patrons & the shooter would have made their own openings in the building.
(BTW) be prepared to make more openings & ventilate soon after - CS in a confined space will kill you - drown in your won mucus.)
It does make a difference if, say, the perp shot 8 victims, and the cops shot the rest.
Remember the story several years ago where NYNY cops shot 10 bystanders, and not one hit on the fellow they were worried about?
Early on in one of the earliest news reports, they played a video of of a girl recording the melee on her phone (she later died). In the background sound there was rapid gunfire (I haven’t heard at a gun range). I thought, “Huh, he must have gotten a FULLY automatic from his underground buds”. NOW, looking back, that must have been auto firing from the responding officers I was hearing. That explains a lot. I’d love to have the recovered ammo tested to see which ones actually came from Mateen the Swine. From process of elimination, we’d know how many patrons were actually hit from the spray of “friendly fire”.
NatCs = Sharia Police.
And he still managed to kill 49? Something ain’t right.
Sounds like the news may have been right, many were killed by bullets from an AR-15. But the only AR15s on scene were carried by the cops.
It was NOT an AR15.
He called dispatchers twice and hung up before they called him back, the source said.
He hung up before they called him back? I would think so.
A 3’ by 2’ hole. I don’t see a lot of people getting through that small of a hole.
Cops killed some at Twin Peaks. I’d like to compare the number of rounds fired in Waco compared to the number fired in Orlando.
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