Orlando Victim's Last Messages: 'He's Coming. I'm Gonna Die'

He texted mother while hiding from gunman
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2016 5:04 AM CDT
Orlando Victim's Last Messages: 'He's Coming. I'm Gonna Die'
Family members wait for word from police after arriving down the street from a shooting involving multiple fatalities at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.   (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

A mother whose son was killed in the Orlando, Fla., shooting has shared the terrifying final text messages she received. Mina Justice, who spoke to the AP before her 30-year-old son, Eddie, was confirmed dead, says she was woken up at 2:06am by the messages: "Mommy I love you" and "In club they shooting." He told her he was trapped in the bathroom of the Pulse nightclub and urged her to call police. She called 911 and exchanged more messages with her son as she spoke to the dispatcher. "He's coming. I'm gonna die," Eddie texted at 2:39am. "Hurry," he wrote minutes later. "He's in the bathroom with us."

She asked him, "Is the man in the bathroom wit u?" At 2:50am, he wrote "He's a terror," and then sent his final message: "Yes." It would be more than two hours until police stormed the club, killing gunman Omar Mateen after the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Eddie Justice was on a partial list of victims released by police Sunday night, the Guardian reports. His mother says he was an accountant who was generally a homebody but who loved to make people laugh. The Orlando Sentinel has the names and stories of more of the 50 victims, almost all of whom were in their 20s or 30s. (On Sunday night, vigils were held across the US.)

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