Last of 49 bodies removed from Orlando nightclub; names listed here

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The last of the bodies were removed from an Orlando gay nightclub overnight as investigators dug into the background of the gunman, who called 911 to profess allegiance to the Islamic State during the attack that left 49 victims dead.

“We will not be defined by the act of a cowardly hater,” Mayor Buddy Dyer vowed on Monday, a day after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The killer, who died in a gun battle with a SWAT team early Sunday, was identified as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American-born Muslim. FBI officials said they had investigated him in 2013 and 2014 on suspicion of terrorist sympathies but could not make a case against him.

Mateen opened fire at the Pulse Orlando club with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in such close quarters that the bullets could hardly miss. He was gunned down after police used explosives and a small armored vehicle to punch a hole in a wall and allow dozens of club-goers to escape, police said.

“I’ve always felt so safe here for my family, kids. And now, I don’t know,” said Marlon Massey, who lives across the street from the club, in the city known to tourists around the globe as the home of Walt Disney World and other theme parks.

President Barack Obama called the shooting an “act of terror” and an “act of hate” against a place of “solidarity and empowerment” for gays.

The City of Orlando has released names and ages of victims of the nightclub shooting whose next of kin have been contacted.

The list will be periodically updated on www.cityoforlando.net/blog/victims/ as those who died are identified and families and loved ones notified. The city gave no additional information other than the names.

—Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34

—Stanley Almodovar III, 23

—Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20

—Juan Ramon Guerroro, 22

—Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36

— Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22

— Luis S. Vielma, 22

— Kimberly Morris, 37

—Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30

—Darryl Roman Burt II, 29

—Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32

—Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21

—Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25

—Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35

—Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50

— Amanda Alvear, 25

— Martin Benitez Torres, 33

— Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37

— Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26

— Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35

— Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25

— Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31

— Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26

— Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25

— Miguel Angel Honorato, 30

— Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40

— Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32

— Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19

— Cory James Connell, 21

— Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37

— Luis Daniel Conde, 39

— Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33

— Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25

— Jerald Arthur Wright, 31

— Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25

— Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25