Calibre Press on Orlando, Early Cell Video from Outside of Pulse

The Caliber Press has published an interesting and informative article on what happened at the Pulse club massacre in Orlando.  It is a well written account that answers some questions, but many others remain.  For example, it appears that the initial confrontation occurred outside the club, with the shooter fighting his way inside.  From calibrepress.com:

...a uniformed Orlando Police Department (OPD) officer working security at the event engaged Mateen in a gunfight. Mateen was able to evade the officer and enter the club just as last call was announced.

This seems to leave the officer outside the club, and the Jihadi inside.  Presumably there was some time, from a few seconds on, before reinforcements arrived.  They arrived very quickly. There had to be a pause before going back inside, if only to inform the responders of the description of the suspect, the direction he was last seen, his armament, and to formulate a hasty plan of action. From calibrepress:

Two more OPD officers immediately arrived on scene and pursued Mateen into the club. Mateen meanwhile retreated into the cavernous and booming space, taking hostages and murdering as he went. Some of the patrons would later report that they thought the gunfire was part of the music soundtrack. At 2:11 a.m., eight minutes after Mateen fired his first shot, Pulse posted on its Facebook page: “Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.”

Eight minutes is a very long time in an ongoing firefight at close quarters.  The fighting and killing continued for a considerable longer period.  From calibrepress:

 At around 2:30 a.m., at the height of the massacre, the killer called 911 and pledged allegiance to two international terrorist organizations that are conflicted, according to FBI Director James Comey.

The SWAT team broke into the building at about 5 a.m.  Sometime in between, the Jihadi took more hostages in the bathroom area and the officers started negotiating.  Exactly when that occurred is not yet known outside of the agencies involved.

Link to video from cell phone outside of the club, early in the shooting

It is an interesting story. Well written, with details that I have not found elsewhere. I am sure that many more details will surface. He seems to be one of the better prepared Jihadis. A security professional who was a very good shot, who understood a lot of the dynamics and how officers would respond.

He was a nightmare for police officers, part of why he was such an effective killer.  Consider how bad it would have been if there had been two or three like him working in concert.

 ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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