Orlando survivor recalls the moment he helped a wounded club-goer

A clearer picture of what happened at Pulse nightclub on Sunday morning is emerging thanks to survivor testimonies.

The night should have been the riot of colour, laughter, diversity, music and comradeship that the day evokes the world over. Thanks to the actions of disturbed murderer Omar Mateen, that night instead goes down in history as one of the most deadly attacks on LGBT freedom the world has seen, resulting in 49 deaths.

Twenty-six year old survivor Josh McGill, of Gulfport, Florida, recalled to WLOX News what would be the most horrific night of his life.

“Everyone was having fun. It was a typical night,” he said. “We heard three initial shots. You just hear gunshot after gunshot after gunshot and that was very scary. My main thought was hide.”

Josh and his roommates made a run for the patio, describing the ensuing panic as people darted in all directions to try and escape the bullets.

“We heard people say run. People starting to flee. We went back outside, hopped the fence. I jumped and ducked behind a car. I hid for a good two to five minutes, which felt like forever.”

It was then that Josh noticed a dazed man with gunshot wounds in his arms and back. Thinking quickly, he ripped off his shirt to fashion a makeshift tourniquet. Both of the victim’s arms had been injured, so he created another tourniquet from the man’s own shirt. “I didn’t want someone to die on my watch.”

Josh didn’t know the man’s name, but it was later revealed to be Rodney Sumter, who plays football at Jackson University. Rodney was hit with bullets three times, the force of which threw him against a wall.

SOURCE: Facebook

Josh’s actions saved his life; Rodney came through emergency surgery and is now in a stable condition. It is just one of the stories of altruistic heroism that punctuates a story full of horror.

Chris Enzo, a friend of Rodney’s speaking on his behalf, spoke to Sky News and described Sunday as being “the most fearful situation of his life.”

“He was hearing bullets piercing people’s flesh, hearing them break bones, hearing people screaming, seeing blood fly everywhere, and hearing glass shattering,” Enzo said.

“He decides to run, and because he runs, he lives.”

Another survivor, Jon Alamo describes Omar Mateen as shooting as though he was a determined soldier:

“You ever seen how Marine guys hold big weapons, shooting from left to right? That’s how he was shooting at people.”

Norman Casiano

He continued by saying, “My first thought was, oh my God, I’m going to die.”

“I was praying to God that I would live to see another day.”

And thankfully, he did.

One of the most chilling testimonies however, comes from survivor Norman Casiano, who spoke to CNN and describes how Mateen laughed as he attacked the club.

“It didn’t sound like a person,” he said. “He didn’t speak. The only sound we heard was the laugh.”

He says it was the sound of “pure evil.”

“It was a laugh of satisfaction, like ‘I’m doing what I came here to do,” he adds.

Watch Norman’s testimony below:

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