Who was the Pulse nightclub shooter? Remembering the 2016 Pulse tragedy eight years later

Gianna Montesano, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·4 min read
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Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered U.S. and state flags at half-staff Wednesday to honor the victims on the eighth anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando

On June 12, 2016, a gunman — identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen —walked into Pulse, a gay nightclub, and opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring 53.

He was killed by police who responded to the scene.

Mateen had spent much of his life living on the Treasure Coast.

He called the Treasure Coast home

Mateen's last known address was a condo in the 2500 block of South 17th Street in Fort Pierce.

Within hours of identifying him, officials were at the Fort Pierce home, where they checked for explosives and searched for evidence.

The FBI and Port St. Lucie police also investigated a home in the 500 block of Southwest Bayshore Boulevard in Port St. Lucie, where Mateen's parents lived. Bags, boxes and electronics were removed from the home.

Mateen worked in various security positions across the Treasure Coast

Mateen's jobs here included at Martin Correctional Institution in Indiantown from October 2006 to April 2007, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. He was hired when he was 19.

No remarks were made by the warden on the form for Mateen's termination. A box on the form indicating "administrative termination not involving misconduct" was checked.

He also worked as a security guard at the St. Lucie County Courthouse through a contract with G4S Secure Solutions. A courthouse supervisor requested in 2013 that Mateen be transferred from the courthouse because of inflammatory remarks he made alleging possible terrorist ties, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

Still working under G4S, he worked as a security guard at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie at least two days before the Orlando shooting.

Mateen grew up on the Treasure Coast

Mateen was born in New York and his family moved in 1991 to the Treasure Coast, where he attended a number of different elementary, middle and high schools.

His behavior — marked by constant outbursts and classroom insubordination — greatly contributed to his academic struggles, according to his school records, obtained at the time by TCPalm. He was disciplined 31 times between 1992 and 1999 for numerous disruptions, striking a student and for disrespectful behavior.

Mateen's pattern of misbehavior did not end in 1999, when he transferred from St. Lucie schools to Martin County schools in eighth grade.

In May 2001 , toward the end of Mateen's freshman year, he was removed from Martin County High School and sent to Spectrum Junior/Senior High School, the district's disciplinary campus.

Mateen attended what was then Indian River Community College, where he received an associate of science degree in criminal justice technology in 2006.

Mateen was rejected when he applied to attend the Treasure Coast Public Safety Training Complex at Indian River State College in 2015.

In his application, a 28-page personal history questionnaire showed he marked "yes" that he'd had criminal records sealed and expunged and that he had been a suspect in a criminal investigation.

Who were the Pulse nightclub shooting victims?

At the time, the Pulse nightclub shooting was the deadliest shooting in modern history, with 49 people killed. These are the victim's:

  • Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

  • Amanda L. Alvear, 25

  • Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33

  • Antonio Davon Brown, 29

  • Darryl Roman Burt II, 29

  • Angel Candelario-Padro, 28

  • Luis Daniel Conde, 39

  • Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20

  • Cory James Connell, 21

  • Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25

  • Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz, 22

  • Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25

  • Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32

  • Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25

  • Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández, 31

  • Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26

  • Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22

  • Paul Terrell Henry, 41

  • Frank Hernandez, 27

  • Miguel Angel Honorato, 30

  • Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25

  • Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19

  • Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30

  • Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32

  • Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21

  • Juan Chavez Martinez, 25

  • Brenda Marquez McCool, 49

  • Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25

  • Oscar A. Aracena Montero, 26

  • Kimberly Jean Morris, 37

  • Akyra Monet Murray, 18

  • Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36

  • Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32

  • Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35

  • Javier Jorge Reyes, 40

  • Enrique L. Rios, Jr. 25

  • Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez, 27

  • Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24

  • Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado, 35

  • Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan, 24

  • Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34

  • Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33

  • Martin Benitez Torres, 33

  • Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24

  • Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez, 50

  • Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez, 37

  • Luis Sergio Vielma, 22

  • Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37

  • Jerald Arthur Wright, 31

Dacia L. Johnson contributed to this report.

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @gonthescene.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Pulse nightclub tragedy was 8 years ago today. Here are the victims' names