PEOPLE TODAY. YEAH THEY DID. ACTUALLY, THE LEAD AGENT FOR THE FBI IN THIS CASE, NINE YEARS AGO LED THE MEETING HERE AT THE DOUBLETREE BY LAKE IVANHOE TODAY, AND MANY FAMILY MEMBERS AND SURVIVORS TOLD US WHAT HE HAD TO SAY, FELL SHORT OF WHAT THEY WANTED TO HEAR.
FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF THE PULSE SHOOTING POURED OUT OF A MEETING WITH THE FBI, SOME SAYING THEY FELT WORSE THAN WHEN THEY WALKED IN. I’M NOT SATISFIED WITH THIS MEETING WITH THE FBI. VICTOR ALMODOVAR LOST HIS 23 YEAR OLD BROTHER STANLEY, IN THE SHOOTING.
HE TRAVELED HERE FROM TENNESSEE. HIS GRANDMOTHER AND FATHER FROM PUERTO RICO. THE FAMILY TOLD US NINE YEARS LATER, THEY WANTED TO KNOW IF STANLEY WAS SHOT BY THE GUNMAN AT PULSE, OR ACCIDENTALLY BY POLICE DURING THE RESPONSE.
DID YOU GET TO ASK THAT QUESTION? NO. THOSE IN ATTENDANCE TOLD US THE MEETING FOCUSED ON THE GUNMAN, HIS WIFE, AND DETAILS OF THE INVESTIGATION THEY HAD HEARD BEFORE.
THEY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SAFETY AT THE CLUB. ALLEGATIONS OF CODE VIOLATIONS. THE POLICE RESPONSE AND WHAT THE FBI KNEW BEFORE THE SHOOTING HAPPENED.
I STILL BELIEVE THAT THERE’S OTHER AVENUES THEY CAN THEY CAN INVESTIGATE. CARMEN HAS LONG WONDERED IF A FASTER RESPONSE COULD HAVE SAVED HER SON, LUIS, WHO SHE SAYS BLED OUT ON THE FLOOR OF THE NIGHTCLUB. SHE WANTED TO ASK ABOUT ALLEGATIONS OF BLOCKED EXITS, SERVED AS HER INTERPRETER AND SUPPORT.
PERSON, AND SAYS CARMEN’S QUESTIONS SIGNALED THE END OF THE CONVERSATION. WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO ANSWER? THEY SAID THEY DIDN’T KNOW.
OR WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO ANSWER? THEY STOPPED. THEY STOPPED THE THE MEETING.
SO IN JUST THE LAST HOUR OR SO, WE HEARD FROM A SURVIVOR WHO SAID THE SECOND ROUND OF MEETINGS WENT BETTER THAN THE FIRST. THIS SURVIVOR WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO DELIVER A HUGE BINDER. LISTING ISSUES THAT THESE FAMILIES STILL WANT ADDRESSED BY THE FBI OR OTHER AGENCIES.
OF COURSE, WE REACHED OUT TO THE FBI FOR COMMENT, AND WE’RE WA Advertisement 'Mockery of a meeting': Families of Pulse victims outraged after FBI avoids questions during final briefing Editorial Standards ⓘ Family members called the final update from the FBI on the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre "a disaster" and said they were escorted out after they began asking questions on Wednesday. They had gathered to hear the final briefing from the FBI on the June 12, 2016, shooting that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured. "The FBI failed us," Christine Leinonen told WESH 2 after the session with the FBI.
She's the mother of a victim. "Why are they not being investigated? Why are they coming to have a family meeting, bringing in all these people, having this mockery of a meeting?
Why are they doing this to us? To tell us 'oh we're going to return little items' to us and then close the case out? Why are they doing this to us?"
Leinonen said through tears. WESH 2 reached out to the FBI with questions about the briefing, but we have not heard back. >> This is a developing story and will be updatedSite visitHundreds of people are expected to visit through a covered walkway to see the place where their loved ones were murdered.The city of Orlando is leading these visits, and this will be the only opportunity for people to go inside before the demolition.Approximately 250 people are expected to take the tour, including 120 family members of 24 victims and 70 survivors of the attack, each allowed to bring one support person.Each group will have 30 minutes inside the building, which has been off-limits for nine years since the attack.Visitors are being transported by bus from downtown Orlando, and privacy is being respected during their arrival and departure.Future of Pulse nightclubThe city of Orlando purchased the Pulse property in 2023 for $2 million and plans to build a $12 million permanent memorial, which will open in 2027.
Those efforts follow a multiyear, botched attempt by a private foundation run by the club's former owner. The existing structure will be razed later this year.>> The Associated Press contributed to this report
