ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando officials Sunday afternoon began identifying victims slain in a mass shooting inside a nightclub.
[UPDATE: Dozens of families await news on victims in Orlando mass shooting]
"On this very difficult day, we offer heartfelt condolences to today’s victims and their families," the city posted on its website. "Our city is working tirelessly to get as much information out to the families so they can begin the grieving process. Please keep the following individuals in your thoughts and prayers. #PrayforOrlando."
Fifty people died and 53 others were injured, some critically, in the shooting.
The list of individuals includes victims who died in the carnage, and their next of kin have been contacted, city officials said.
- Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
- Stanley Almodovar III, 23
- Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20
- Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22
- Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
- Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
- Luis S. Vielma, 22
- Kimberly Morris, 37
- Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30
- Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
- Deonka Diedra Drayton, 32
- Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
- Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25
- Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
- Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50
- Amanda Alvear, 25
- Martin Benitez Torres, 33
- Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
- Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26
- Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
- Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
- Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26
- Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25
The name of the shooter, Omar Mateen, who was killed in a gunfight with Orlando police, is not on the list.
Edward Sotomayor was a caring, energetic man known for wearing a silly top hat on cruises, said David Sotomayor, who identified himself as the victim's cousin.
David Sotomayor, who lives in Chicago, told The Associated Press Sunday that Edward worked for a company that held gay cruises and often traveled to promote the company's events.
"He was just always part of the fun," David Sotomayor said.
The two discovered they were related after meeting at Orlando's annual Gay Days festival around a decade ago. They texted regularly and kept in touch, last seeing each other earlier this year at a filming of the television reality show "RuPaul's Drag Race," David Sotomayor said.
David Sotomayor is a drag queen who appeared on a season of the show using the name "Jade." He said Edward Sotomayor supported him and often sent him Facebook messages. They last exchanged messages late last week.
"You never think that's going to be the last time you speak to him," David Sotomayor said. "It's just heartbreaking to know it just can happen anytime."
Juan Ramon Guerrero told his cousin Robert Guerrero he was gay about two years ago, but he was worried about how the rest of his family would react. He did not tell them until just before the beginning of this year. And when he did?
"They were very accepting," said Guerrero, 19. "As long as he was happy, they were OK with it."
On Sunday morning, after learning that so many people had died at Pulse, that his cousin had gone to once in a while, Guerrero started to become concerned. Later in the day, his fears were realized when the family learned that Guerrero was identified as one of the victims.
Robert Guerrero said his cousin worked as a telemarketer and in recent months he started attending college at the University of Central Florida. Guerrero said his cousin didn't quite know what he wanted to study, but he was happy to be in school. And he was happy in a relationship with a person his relatives came to regard as a member of the family, Guerrero said.
"He was always this amazing person (and) he was like a big brother to me," he said of his cousin. "He was never the type to go out to parties, would rather stay home and care for his niece and nephew."
Stanley Almodovar III's mother had prepared a tomato-and-cheese dip for him to eat when he came home from his night out.
Instead, Rosalie Ramos was awakened by a call at 2 a.m. Sunday telling her something had happened.
Ramos told the Orlando Sentinel her son, a 23-year-old pharmacy technician, posted a Snapchat video of himself singing and laughing on his way to Pulse nightclub.
"I wish I had that (video) to remember him forever," she told the newspaper.
A friend, Hazel Ramirez, told the Washington Post she also saw a video from Almodovar on Snapchat and learned Sunday afternoon what had happened.
Ramirez described Almodovar as "kind, but sassy," and someone who was comfortable with his own sexual identity.
"He was so proud of who he was," she told the Post. "He would do his makeup better than anyone else. It was so easy to be myself with him."
Meanwhile, victims who were wounded described the scene inside the club as mass chaos.
Two men who were inside Pulse, described on its website as a gay club, discussed the Sunday massacre in Facebook chats with The Associated Press.
Brand White, 30, of Orlando, was shot in the terrorist attack.
"We are dancing and all of a sudden it just started like a rolling thunder, loud and everything went black," he said.
White was with his cousin, who mentioned something about "a guy with a bomb." After that, White says, his memory is fuzzy; he said he doesn't recall leaving the club or who took him to the hospital.
White, who was shot in the shoulder, spoke to the AP as he was being monitored at a hospital. He said he received a blood transfusion, and authorities have pleaded for people to donate blood in the wake of the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States.
White's cousin was unaccounted for -- no one had heard from him as of 2:45 p.m.
Another man, Brett Rigas, said he and his partner were dancing when they heard shots.
Rigas was shot in the arm and hid behind a bar. About five minutes later, authorities came in and told everyone to put their hands up and run out.
Rigas said he saw bodies as he ran out.
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