Days after Orlando’s mass deadly shooting at Pulse Nightclub, survivors are sharing terrifying moments from their encounter with the gunman.
Patience Carter was at an Orlando hospital press conference Tuesday when she relived what happened during the hours she was locked inside the bathroom with Omar Mateen, the man authorities identified as the gunman. The 20-year-old from Philadelphia was on family vacation and described the experience with friends as going from the time of their lives to “having the worst night of our lives.” Carter said she and a friend bolted outside once the shots rang out, quickly realizing another friend was missing. After going back inside to find their friend, Carter says they became hostages inside a bathroom with Mateen.
Carter and her two friends were shot. She suffered a shattered femur in her right leg and took a bullet to her left thigh. Carter’s friend Akyra Murray died from her injuries. Carter said the shooter “showed no mercy.”
“Throughout that period of hours, the gunman was in there with us, [he] made a 911 call saying the reason why he is doing this is because he wants America to stop bombing his country, and then he pledged allegiance to ISIS,” Carter told reporters.
Carter also recalled the gunman asking if there were any black people inside of the bathroom.
“He said, ‘You know, I don’t have a problem with black people,'” and, “You guys have suffered enough.'”
She extended her gratitude to an unknown man, who she said blocked at least one of Mateen’s final shots. The man died from his injuries. Carter shared a poem about being a survivor of the traumatic experience.
The first line reads, “The guilt of feeling grateful to be alive is heavy.”
