Kimberly “KJ” Morris
Omar Mateen entered gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando at 2:02 a.m. Sunday. Armed with a .223 caliber AR type assault rifle, he fired randomly at anyone in his path.
Club bouncer Kimberly “KJ” Morris, 37, was among his first victims. She would have been an easy target positioned outside the front door, which also served as the only exit.
Orlando Police later confirmed that 2 people were killed outside the club.
Morris moved to Orlando from Hawaii 2 months ago to help her mother and grandmother, who both live in the Orlando area.
The athletic butch lesbian was ecstatic when she was hired as a bouncer at the club in April.
“She was so excited. She’d just started working there and told me how she was thrilled to get more involved in the LGBT community there,” her ex-girlfriend Starr Shelton told the Orlando Sentinel.
She was such a great person and so full of life,” added Shelton, 35. She said they separated after a year when Shelton moved to San Francisco to attend school. “I can truly say heaven has gained an angel,” she said.
Edward Sotomayor, Jr.
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34, worked as a brand manager for a gay travel website. He loved the perks of his job, which included extensive travel to exotic locales.
Sotomayor and his boyfriend were enjoying one last dance before closing time at Pulse Nightclub’s “Latin Night” early Sunday. He was gunned down minutes after the last call for alcohol.
“He was with his boyfriend and they sent me a video text from the dance floor at Pulse, trying to get me to come over from where I was at,” recalled his boss Al Ferguson, who owns ALandCHUCK.travel.
The shootings started 23 minutes after Ferguson received the text from Sotomayor.
“He was super bright,” said Ferguson. “He was an attractive young guy. Being in his 30s, he had accomplished so much.”
Sotomayor had just returned to Orlando from Cuba in April, where he coordinated the first-ever gay cruise to the island nation since Obama lifted travel restrictions.
Sotomayor, who was popular in the gay travel industry, was the national coordinator for the “Drag Stars at Sea” cruise, which featured stars of the popular reality TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
“He had traveled to so many places in the world,” Ferguson said. “He loved travel.”
He said Sotomayor was mindful of the danger that gays faced while traveling outside of the country, particularly after the 2015 Paris attacks.
“What I will say, over and over again, was he was a person who said, ‘We cannot be afraid,'” said Ferguson. “I know his friends are going to be the exact same way… we are not going to be afraid.”
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, aka Peter Ommy
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz’s Facebook page was changed to read “Remembering Peter Ommy” on Sunday. The 22-year-old was identified as one of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S.
Friends and family gathered on Facebook to remember the bilingual nature lover who graduated from high school in New Jersey in 2013 and worked for UPS in Orlando.
He was also mourned on Twitter.com, where his grieving cousins left messages.
“Rest in peace to my wonderful cousin,” read one. And “May you rest easy in Heaven,” read another.
Luis Vielma, 22, Theme Park Worker
Luis Vielma was a fun-loving student who had plans to become an EMT, according to Josh Boesch, who worked with Vielma at Universal Orlando theme park.
“He was always a friend you could call,” said Boesch, who added Vielma always went above and beyond for his friends and park guests. “He was always open and available.”
Vielma’s family are in mourning and couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Vielma’s friends remembered him on social media.
Olga Glomba also worked with Vielma at Universal, where Vielma operated the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.
“He was a true friend,” Glomba wrote in an email to the Sentinel. “A funny, sweet, nerdy guy without a mean side. He just wanted to make people smile.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this morning’s tragedy. We stand ready to help our community in any way we can,” said Tom Wilson, Chairman of Universal Parks and Resorts, in a statement on Sunday.
Orlando Police released more names of the victims Monday.
Visit OrlandoSentinel.com to read more about the victims
