Pulse Nightclub Shooting Photos: FBI Releases More Than 400 Graphic Pictures Of Attack In Orlando That Left 49 Dead
Photos of the Pulse nightclub shooting have now gone public, with the FBI releasing more than 400 evidence photos from the attack in Orlando that left 49 people dead in what was the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
The Pulse nightclub shooting photos were quietly released this week through the city of Orlando’s website, and many are quite graphic. Orlando Weekly noted that “blood smears” are visible in many of the photos, which also showed bullet holes and spilled drinks from the chaos that ensued following the shooting as patrons ran and hid from shooter Omar Mateen. The photos also show where Orlando police used explosives to blow holes into the club’s walls and gain access to the building.
The photos do not show any dead bodies, as they were taken eight days after the attack.
The Pulse nightclub shooting photos were released just before authorities announced the arrest of Noor Salman, the widow of shooter Omar Mateen, on charges that she hindered the investigation by lying to FBI agents after the shooting. Salman appeared in a California court this week to acknowledge two felony charges, including one that she knew about her husband’s plans to launch the attack and helped in its planning.
“She knew he was going to conduct the attack,” federal prosecutor Roger Handberg said during the 15-minute hearing on Tuesday (via the Associated Press).
As the report added, Noor Salman is accused of helping her husband in the months before the attack, but the indictment did not give details on exactly how she helped.
“The indictment charges her with aiding and abetting Mateen in providing material support and resources to the Islamic State group between April and June of last year. She was also charged with obstruction, accused of misleading and lying to police and the FBI during their investigation.”
The indictment gave no additional details on Salman’s actions. She has pleaded not guilty.
Wife of Pulse Nightclub Gunman Pleads Not Guilty https://t.co/pX2QcmQrPH
— Rinaldo Agustan (@Rinaldo_tan) January 18, 2017
There had been some speculation that Noor Salman disappeared after the shooting, as she quickly ducked out of the spotlight. But authorities never lost sight of her, even if neighbors had no idea that Noor was living with her mother in a quiet California neighborhood.
“It’s a very private family, very quiet family,” next-door neighbor Glauber Franchi told the Associated Press. “You don’t see them. You barely see them on the street. They’re good people from my knowledge. Never had a problem.”
Family members claimed that Noor Salman was emotionally and physically abused by her husband.
The release of the Pulse Nightclub shooting videos this week was for many a stark reminder of the brutal nature of the attack. In the weeks and months that followed the June attack, much effort has been put into remembering the victims and raising money to support their often broken families.
This incredible comic anthology honors the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.https://t.co/JJhkOqJQZu pic.twitter.com/GhsX4UJQBM
— Learning for Justice (@learnforjustice) January 8, 2017
In late December, families of three Pulse nightclub shooting victims filed a federal civil lawsuit accusing Facebook, Google, and Twitter of allegedly providing “material support” to Islamic State that helped to radicalize Mateen.
The New York Daily News published details of the lawsuit.
“In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Monday and obtained by Fox News, the families of Tevin Crosby, Javier Jorge-Reyes and Juan Ramon Guerrero alleged that the tech companies provided ISIS ‘with accounts they used to spread propaganda, raise funds and attract recruits.'”
The Pulse nightclub shooting photos can be seen here.
[Featured Image by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images]
