Many of the partygoers at the Pulse nightclub had never heard a gun fire off a shot in real life and thought the gunfire was part of the show or music. They finally came to the harsh reality that a crazed person was shooting into the crowd of over 300 at the Orlando nightclub. Imran Yousuf was quite familiar with the blast of a gun because he served as a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan so he jumped into action.
Yousuf, a 24-year-old Hindu, is a bouncer at the Pulse nightclub and was working during the onslaught. He was making his rounds early Sunday morning right after last call, and barely missed coming face-to-face with the mass murderer, Omar Mateen.
The war veteran recognized the gunshots from the AR-15.
“The initial one was three or four (shots). That was a shock. Three of four shots go off and you could tell it was a high-caliber. Everyone froze. I’m here in the back and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine pack everyone.”
Yousuf saw that many of panicked people became paralyzed with fear and didn’t open the locked door in a hallway that would set them free.
“And I’m screaming ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ And no one is moving because they are scared,” Yousuf said. “There was only one choice. Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch a we got everyone that we can out of there.”
The military veteran said that over 60 or 70 people were able to escape after he unlatched and opened the door at the doomed nightclub.
“I wish I could have saved more to be honest,” Yousuf said as he fought off tears. “There are a lot of people that are dead …there are a lot of people that are dead.”
[CBSNews]
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