Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 50 and wounded at least 53 inside an Orlando gay bar, posed for a final selfie after murdering victims in the women’s restroom.
Officials say Mateen, 29, paused during his rampage inside Pulse nightclub to call 911 and declare his allegiance to the Islamic extremist group ISIS.
During the carnage, many of the panicked victims sought refuge inside the women’s restroom. That’s where Mateen found them, huddled together inside the stalls.
Trapped inside the restroom with the gunman, Eddie Justice desperately text his mother for help. “Mommy I love you. In the club they shooting… “Call them momm.”
“Which club?” Mina Justice text him back.
“Pulse… downtown,” he replied. “He’s coming. I’m gonna die”.
“Which bathroom?” she text him frantically. Mina Justice said Eddie told her he was inside the women’s restroom.
“He has us, and he’s in here with us,” read Eddie’s final text to his mother.
Mateen was killed by a SWAT team during a shootout around 5:30 a.m.
He ruthlessly gunned his victims with a .223 caliber AR rifle and 9mm semiautomatic pistol — both purchased legally.
Sadly, Eddie’s name was on the victim list. Investigators left the bodies where they died in the nightclub. Cell phones on the deceased rang nonstop as loved ones tried frantically to reach on them.
MSNBC spoke with the gunman’s father on Sunday. The father apologized for his son’s actions, saying he was angry after seeing 2 men kissing in downtown Miami.
“We are apologizing for the whole incident. We weren’t aware of any action he is taking,” Mateen’s father said. “We are in shock like the whole country. This had nothing to do with religion,” he added.
The Port St. Lucie, Florida native was described as an American citizen and a radical Islamist.
The Orlando mass shooting is the deadliest in U.S. history.
In unrelated news, police arrested a man with weapons and explosives inside his car in California on Sunday. The man told officials he was on his way to the West Hollywood Gay Pride Parade.
Check back for updates on this developing news story.
