Orlando Club Massacre: City Publishing Victims' Names
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ORLANDO, Fla. (CBSMiami/AP) — The city of Orlando has begun publishing the names of those killed in a massacre at a gay nightclub on its website after their families have been contacted.
At least 50 people were killed and 53 more were hospitalized.
Families of the victims were told they would not receive information about their loved ones until Monday at 10:00 a.m.
Shooter Omar Mateen was killed; his name is not on the list.
The city's website includes the #PrayforOrlando hashtag and says officials are "working tirelessly" to get information to families.
The list can be found at: http://www.cityoforlando.net/blog/victims/
"We, as a gay community, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community, are a people who love," said Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan, the city's first openly gay city commissioner. "And if you think that you're going to stab at the heart of us by doing this horrible, violent act, you're not. Because we love."
At Orlando Regional Medical Center, friends and family waited desperately for any information on loved ones.
"I know that they're doing the best they can," said Sara Lopez, a friend of a clubgoer. "But just knowing that he's laying in there, without no one identifying him is killing me."
She believes her best friend Jimmy was at Pulse Night Club and was one of the wounded.
"The last thing that we heard of him was that he was with a friend. His friend ran and when he looked back, he saw Jimmy on the floor," she said.
Blood donation centers across central Florida were lined with people more than a hundred deep who waited for hours in 90 degree heat to give blood. The city put out the call for donations and saw the city show up with their arms out, ready to give.
"It's great to see this outpouring in the community," said one blood donor. "Everybody volunteering out here, it's really heartwarming in the wake of this incident."
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