These are the faces of the Orlando massacre victims

Some of the victims of the Orlando gay bar massacre have been named, with the list to be updated as more bodies are identified.

orlando massacre victims

These are the faces of the Orlando shooting victims. Source: Facebook

A man armed with an assault rifle killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early on Sunday in the deadliest mass shooting in US history, a rampage President Barack Obama denounced as an act of terror and hate.

Edward "Eddie" Sotomayor Jr., 34-years-old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Sotomayor, the first body to be identified by the Orlando Police, died trying to save his boyfriend, shielding him from gunfire, reports WESH 2 News.
According to , Sotomayor was the national brand coordinator for one of "America's largest gay-owned travel company", in Sarasota, Florida.

The travel agency caters to the LGBTQI community planning cruises and tours for Pride Events, Gay Festivals, and circuit parties.

Sotomayor had been working there since August 2014.

He sent his friend, Al Ferguson, a Snapchat from Pulse nightclub before the attack, that was shared on Facebook.
Luis Arancibia, general manager at a Hilton property and friend of Sotomayor, told SBS, "Eddie" was a prominent person in the gay Latin community.

“Eddie was a loving, happy person who just knew everyone in our community. He was one of those people that if he didn’t know you were, he wanted to get to know you,” Arancibia said.

"If you ever needed anything he would be there for you.”

Arancibia regrets not reaching out to Sotomayor in the past few months; he said circumstances got in the way.

“Every single time you would see Eddie you would just feel better," he said. "Such a caring person and such a happy person – he’ll definitely be missed."

Stanley Almodovar III, 23-years-old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
The 23-year-old had been working as a certified pharmacy technician at Avella Specialist Pharmacy in Lake Mary, Florida since January last year, according to his and profiles.

Prior to Avella, Almodovar was a pharmacy technician at Walgreens and an intern in the same field at Target.

Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, Almodovar, who was openly gay, moved to Clermont, Florida in August 2003.

He was weeks shy of his 24th birthday.

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20-years-old

orlando shooting victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
"Omar" as Ocasio-Capo was called by his friends, was a dancer according to his . He also worked at a Starbucks cafe within a Target store in Kissimmee, Florida.

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22-years-old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Guerrero was a student at the University of Central Florida, reports . He also worked part time as a telemarketer.

Guerrero was from Orlando, and was at the nightclub with his boyfriend, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen, on Sunday night, according to .
Leinonen was missing until last night when his body was identified. He is listed below. Guerrero's father told the couple will be buried in a joint funeral.

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36-years-old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
According to his , Ortiz-Rivera lived in Miami but is originally from Dorado, Puerto Rico. He studied at the Univercidad Central de Bayamon in Puerto Rico.

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22-years-old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Originally from South Africa via New Jersey, Gonzalez-Cruz worked for UPS delivery services. He was known as Peter Ommy by his friends, according to .

Luis S. Vielma, 22-years-old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Vielma was a student at Seminole State College of Florida, while also working as a production assistant at Universal Studios in Orlando, according to his .

Kimberly "KJ" Morris, 37 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Originally from Torrington, Connecticut, Morris lived in Orlando, Florida. According to , she goes by the nickname "KJ".

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Justice sent his mother a text from the club during the attack. His text read, "Mommy I love you" followed by a series of text messages reading "In club they shooting", "Trapp in bathroom", "Pulse. Downtown. Call police.", and finally at 2:08am, "I'm gonna die".

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Burt was at Pulse celebrating earning his master's degree in human resources management from Keiser Univeristy in Jacksonville, Tennessee. He assisting several military service members.

Prior to working at Keiser, Burt's reads he was a general manager at McDonalds and a home store manager at Forever 21, both in Jacksonville.

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
Drayton was an employee at Pulse. According to social media sources, she grew up near Eastover, Massachusetts.

Drayton, who had faced felony charges on drug possession only last year, was turning her life around according to her ex-girlfriend of four years, Ashleigh Alleyne who told the .

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Originally from El Chique, Mexico, Maritnez worked as a DJ at Cloud 9 in Ocala, Florida. He was married to his wife Erika Starr for nearly two years, according to .

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Image

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

twitter
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

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Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Christopher Andrew "Drew" Leinonen, 32 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Facebook) Source: Facebook
Leinonen was at Pulse with his boyfriend Juan Ramon Guerrero (one of the first victims to be identified). His boyfriend's father told the couple will be buried in a joint funeral.



Leinonen was a Detroit, Michigan native, according to his, and studied clinical psychology at the University of Central Florida.

His mother told thehe began a gay-straight alliance in high school and was awarded the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award for his work in the gay community. 

The most heartbreaking video I've ever seen. Her son Christopher “Drew” Leinonen is among the dead. #OrlandoUnitedhttps://t.co/Fs5ei3OXUj — Eduardo Samaniego (@EduarSamani) June 13, 2016
Leinonen died a week and a half after his 32nd birthday.

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

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Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old

orlando massacre victims
(via Twitter) Source: Twitter
“[I] only know of two, but to know that number can rise by tomorrow is terrifying,” a friend of two of the victims told SBS news.

Around 2am Sunday local time, a 29-year-old man carrying an assault rifle and a pistol entered Pulse nightclub and opened fire. The club was packed with up to 320 patrons.

About 30 people were freed after an armoured vehicle carrying a SWAT team broke down the club's doors.

The gunman, who was shot dead a few hours later during the SWAT operation, had reportedly committed the act of violence in the name of IS, pledging his allegiance to the terrorist organisation.

- With Reuters.

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6 min read
Published 13 June 2016 10:50am
Updated 15 June 2016 11:51am
By Shami Sivasubramanian, Ben Winsor
Source: SBS News

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