ORLANDO, Fla. _ With so many calls flooding into emergency dispatchers during the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting, 911 operators had no choice that morning but to disconnect with victims still inside the club as the three-hour ordeal unfolded so they could answer other calls.
At 2:08 a.m., a man whispered to dispatchers that he was hiding "in a back room." Through yes-or-no answers, the man told 911 operators that he was not injured, not involved in the shooting and didn't know what the shooter looked like.
As the dispatcher told the man to "stay where (he is) if (he) feel(s) safe" and tried to get off the phone with the man to answer other incoming calls, the caller interjected:
"No," the caller said. "He's gonna kill us."
The dispatcher then asked him to stay on the line as he attempted to transfer the call to the Orlando Police Department, and the caller said "OK." Seconds later, the call dropped.
The recording was one of 21 more released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday. Orange County's 911 center receives emergency calls meant for the Orlando Police Department when Orlando's lines are overflowing. The sheriff's office previously released 20 calls. The OPD has already allowed the release of more than 30 calls, but is reviewing the rest of the 603 calls received that night.
The mass shooting at the Orlando club left 49 people dead and more than 50 injured.
At 2:11, the call center phone rang, but the dispatcher had difficulty hearing the caller: "Hello! This is 911, are you there? This is 911 are you there? Can you talk to me? Can you talk to me? Can you talk to me? (Muffled talking in the background) Hello, this is 911, can you talk to me?"
A minute and a half in, the caller started talking: "We're at Pulse, there's a shooting. A mass murder."
The dispatcher said help was on the way and asked if the caller could describe the shooter or his location. Then the line goes dead. The dispatcher called back.
"Ugh, this is very unnerving," she said, waiting for the caller to pick up again. It went to voicemail.
At 2:16, another call came in and was then dropped. The dispatcher called back. A voice answered: "We're at the nightclub, Pulse nightclub. There's a shootout! There's a big-ass shootout! Didn't see who was shooting. I ran as fast as I can." She can be heard panting as she ran.
At 2:17, a caller told dispatchers, "There's a shooting. There's dead people everywhere. My brother is calling me right now saying there is dead people everywhere and he is hiding in the stall. Hurry up! He's inside the club. There's shooting. They're in trouble. There's so many dead people there. Hurry up!"
At 2:27, another 911 operator told a caller to not call her brother back: "I don't want his phone ringing, OK? He only needs to hide for safety. If he's inside the club he needs to hide for safety. ... If he calls you again, tell him to dial 911 and to leave the phone open and not to talk."
By 2:43, one dispatcher told a woman who was concerned about her brother who was trapped in a bathroom, that, "We are in the club. We are searching for everyone. We are pulling victims out. Please just have patience ... It's going to take a while before we figure out where everyone's at. As soon as we find them, I'm gonna take your info and we are going to call you."
Later in the night, callers alternated between controlled and angry.
At 4:42, A woman, her voice calm, said her fiance was shot and she wanted to know whether he was brought to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
"We won't know that, I'm sorry," the dispatcher said, suggesting she try to call ORMC. "Right now, the situation is still ongoing, and unfortunately they may be too busy to give you information."
The woman took a deep breath.
"Ok, thank you so much," she said.
Minutes later, an agitated voice told dispatchers: "This is the seventh time I'm calling you guys. My girlfriend is in the club Pulse, hiding in the bathroom there. Four dead, two wounded, and they're about to die," he said. "I gave you guys the name, I gave you guys the phone number, and nobody has called her."
The dispatcher transferred him to her supervisor.
"It's been over an hour and nothing has been done," the man told the supervisor.
"Ok, sir, stuff is being done, I can promise you that. Stuff is being done," the supervisor said.
The man wasn't appeased.
"I'm watching the news right now and they don't know that there's people inside the club and there's four dead and the cops aren't doing (expletive)," he said.
The supervisor asked him not to swear. Then she read back his girlfriend's phone number so he could confirm it.
"Please don't call and start being rude and yelling at me, I know you're upset and I'm trying to get you the help. But please don't curse at me," the supervisor said.
"It's been over an hour," the caller said.
"I understand that, and I understand you're upset. And there are people working on trying to get to her, I promise you that," she said.
Two dozen media organizations, including the Orlando Sentinel, have been involved in a legal battle to have all the calls released. Earlier this month, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice told the city of Orlando that the recordings no longer need to be protected as part of the active investigation into the attack. A judge also ordered the city to itemize the list of the recordings. That list is due by the end of the day Wednesday.
The city says it will work with the news organizations and individuals who have requested the calls to determine who will pay for costs associated with preparing the records.
Partial transcripts of calls and reports of radio traffic from officers on the scene have been released since June. But the 911 calls, especially from those inside the nightclub, may provide more information about the events that unfolded during the three-hour siege that ended when police killed gunman Omar Mateen, who was holding hostages.
