Doctors, Orlando Club Survivor Speak About Shooting
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Doctors and survivors shared their stories from the hours after a shooting began at a nightclub in Orlando that left 49 victims dead and dozens more injured.
At a news conference Tuesday at Orlando Regional Medical Center, doctors described "truckloads'' and "ambulance-loads'' of patients arriving for trauma treatment.
Dr. Kathryn Bondani said the first patient who arrived was relatively stable, and the staff hoped that others would be in a similar condition. But the doctors soon got about five patients in much worse shape.
Dr. Chadwick Smith choked up a bit talking about the night.
"The patients just started coming. One came, then another came, then another came," Smith said, adding that within minutes the emergency room was jammed. "People worrying about their loved ones, people not knowing where their loved ones are, and we're trying to help them all."
He described calling in additional staff and telling them, "This is not a drill, this is not a joke," and said everyone answered "I'll be right there,'' and dozens of doctors and nurses showed up to help.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, the survivors spoke in rooms crammed to capacity, their silent audience was transfixed.
Appearing in a wheelchair with the doctors and nurses who treated him nearby, shooting survivor Angel Colon talked about what happened early Sunday at the Pulse nightclub.
MORE: Photos | Videos | Victims Identified | 5 Deadliest Mass Shootings In U.S.
He said the gunman shot a girl next to him and then shot his hand and his hip. He said he pretended to be dead and the gunman kept firing his gun.
"Everyone started running everywhere, I got trampled over," he said. "All I could hear was the shotgun, one after another, and people screaming, people running for help."
Colon said at times, the gunman was shooting people who appeared that they had already been killed.
When asked about his thoughts on the shooter, Colon said, "This person had to be heartless. This person is just enjoying doing this."
He thanked the hospital staff and said, "I will love you guys forever.''
"Looking at the souls leaving the bodies of individuals, looking at the killer's machine gun throughout my right [peripheral], looking at the blood and debris covered on everyone's faces, looking at the gunman's feet under the stall as he paces," shooting victim Patience Carter described.
Survivor Angel Santiago also opened up about his experience, CBS2's Lou Young reported.
"I just kept hearing gunfire over and over and over again and it kept getting louder, closer.... I could start to smell gunpowder," he said.
Some found a place to hide, only to discover there was no real escape.
"I look over and he shoots the girl next to me," Angel Ramon said, "I'm just there laying down thinking I'm next, I'm dead. So I don't know how, but by the glory of God he just shoots towards my head, but it hits my hand and he shoots me again, and it hits the side of my hip."
There were brief moments of quiet as the killer reloaded his weapon.
"Complete silence where you could hear a pin drop, you could hear the bullets drop. I even heard the clip fall on the floor for him to just reload again," Demetrice Naulings said.
Friends were separated in the confusion, looking for a way out in a situation where seconds were the difference between life and death.
"It's dark. He wasn't behind me, but as I'm looking behind me and still moving a girl gets shot right behind me, and she falls on the floor and people trample over her like she's nothing because there so in a panic attack, and we're at a standstill at this time because it's dark and the gate is black, and you can't really see where the latch is to open it," Naulings said.
As police exchanged gunfire with Mateen he too sought a place to hid - a restroom filled with people who would become hostages and additional victims.
"He said 'hey you' to someone on the floor inside the bathroom and shot them, shot another person, and then shot another person," Patience Carter recalled.
He also spoke to some of his victims.
"He said 'are there any black people in here?' I was too afraid to answer. One man said there are 6 or 7 of us, and he said I have no problem with black people," Carter said.
A stranger saved Carter's life by shielding her with his body. A friend she came to the club with is dead like so many others.
"The last thing that my friend texted me was 'please help me. Help me, I've been shot and I'm going into shock, please help me," Naulings said.
On Facebook, Dr. Joshua Corsa posted a picture of his brand new sneakers from work that night, soaked in the blood of dozens of victims. He said he will continue to wear them until the last patient leaves the hospital.
At the news conference, Dr. Michael Cheatham said six people wounded in the shooting are "critically ill'' at the hospital and another five patients are in "guarded'' condition.
"I would be surprised if we do not see the death toll rise from this," Cheatham said. "We're doing everything we possible can to pull them through this, but they are critically ill as a result of their injuries."
He said hospital and trauma centers prepare for disasters, but "you can never prepare adequately.''
Cheatham said 16 patients at the hospital are in stable condition.
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