Pulse nightclub shooting victim’s families renew questions over police response 10 years on
The 49 victims of the 2016 massacre. (Image: Twitter)
Ten years after the Pulse nightclub massacre, Christopher “Drew” Leinonen’s mother Christine Leinonen has alleged police delays meant her son, shot multiple times, “bled to death” and could have survived with faster intervention, in comments ahead of the anniversary.
Christopher Leinonen was 32 when he was killed. Asked whether he could have survived had police acted differently, Christine Leinonen said: “Absolutely.”
She added: “My son was such a good human being… he finally met the man he was going to marry… It’s just an injustice all the way around.”
Belinnette Ocasio-Capo, the sister of victim Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, also criticised the response. Referring to her brother, who was 20, she said: “If they had acted sooner, I promise you my brother would have been here with us today,”
Ocasio-Capo said: “Seeing the camera footage of police just on their phones chilling while my brother was literally bleeding out for over 30 minutes when they could have saved them…”
“You’re supposed to do your job and follow procedure… I honestly don’t think they did.”
What happened at Pulse
The Pulse nightclub shooting took place on 12 June 2016 at a Florida nightclub, killing 49 people and injuring 58 others. The club was hosting a Latin-themed event and was packed with more than 300 people.
The gunman was Omar Mateen, 29, who was shot dead by police about three hours after the first shots.
A 2018 report on “survivable wounds” claimed 16 victims died after suffering injuries that could have been treated.
Christopher Leinonen was reportedly struck nine times, and his mother alleges the bullets missed vital organs and that he “bled to death”.
Families’ calls for accountability
Christine Leinonen has been a prominent public advocate for victims’ families in the aftermath of Pulse, speaking in media and at memorial contexts about accountability and remembrance. The attack has been widely commemorated within LGBTQ+ communities globally, including remembering the 49 lives violently stolen.
