The young man, Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, who texted his mother from the bathroom of Pulse, is one of the 49 human beings who perished at the hand of an Islamic terrorist. I cried for over 24 hours straight when I saw the first photo of his texts with his mom. I’m still choked up. That could have been my son.
Like everyone else in America, I’ve been following this story obsessively. I won’t even mention all the thousands of details of this terrorist attack here. You already have heard them all. Unlike politicians and national pundits, I’m certainly not about to politicize this attack.
What I will tell you is how this national tragedy has overshadowed all the local political stories that I usually write about. It’s difficult for me to concentrate on what’s going on in North Miami, North Miami Beach and the rest of the communities I typically cover. This will pass, I know. But for now, I am simply too heartbroken to think about much else.
Sadly, this story will soon fade into the background. New stories and other tragedies will make headlines. With time, Americans, Floridians, and eventually even Orlando residents, will get back to their lives and routines. This is as it should be. Humans are resilient. Although we never forget our lost loved ones, and we take time to mourn, yet we somehow remember to forge on beyond the grief.
But, my greatest fear is that this horrific tragedy will too soon become a distant memory. Forgetting will be a far greater tragedy.
On Sunday morning, the world lost 49 beautiful souls and we must honor their lives and NEVER FORGET THEM!
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
May they rest in peace and may their memory be a blessing.
Stephanie Kienzle
Young Americans have lost their life. We need answers. We need a Real Plan. We need to report information to people that care and Will Do Something. Who do we contact?
Good question. The FBI completely dropped the ball on this one. So did Homeland Security, since the terrorist worked for a DHS contractor for years. It’s pretty hard to place our trust in the government right now, huh? I wish I had the answer.
So Sad God Bless you Stephanie all of our hearts are broken. May they rest in peace.
Perhaps we need to find a MORE serious way to do away with those who use guns for the wrong reasons instead of just letting more innocent people get killed. I love my guns too but we’re just losing far too many innocent people and far too many who love the thrill of killing others. We are so far away from identifying something that will “stick” to make these people stop killing others. Its time for something much bigger and better than “screening” which is not working. How many more innocent people, especially children, have to be KILLED OR MAIMED before OUR COUNTRY, OUR COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE A THIRD WORLD. WE REALLY NEED TO GET OFF OUR ASSES AND DO MUCH BETTER BEFORE WE’RE ALL “DEAD ON ARRIVAL!” CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW????? Lets get the help we need to save our families.
Unfortunately, there is no “screening” process in place. This government scrubs all references to Islamic terrorism. “See something, say something” is a joke. The terrorist who killed 49 innocent people had been investigated by the FBI twice and was twice let go. He had been to Afghanistan and back at least twice. He announced his allegiance to ISIS on social media and to his friends and family. He worked for a security firm that was a government contractor, and he was licensed to carry. His co-workers were concerned about his radicalism, and when they complained they were shut down (see something, say something epic fail!). The danger of “political correctness” couldn’t be any clearer.
Radical Islam IS the problem. Not guns, not the Second Amendment, and certainly not the NRA. When we have people in charge who are willing (and allowed) to recognize what the REAL threat to America is, maybe something will be done. In the meantime, “refugees” are flooding into our country from places where Islamic terrorism is flourishing, and the chances that Islamists are among them is astronomical. The government has no intention of protecting us. More and more people are seeing this truth.