Dramatic moment man admits trapping Orlando victims with ISIS killer as survivor says ‘I thought he was an accomplice’
Janiel Gonzalez claims doomed clubbers begged a man to open the exit door, while Luis Burbano admits holding door shut
THIS is the dramatic moment a survivor of the Orlando club massacre admits trapping victims inside the club by blocking an exit door.
Luis Burbano managed to flee Pulse nighclub when the shooting began at around 2am on Sunday morning.
He fled the back room he had been partying in through a narrow door, which led to a small corridor exiting the club.
Luis ran out of the first door, which was hidden behind a curtain, and found "around 20 people" trying to clamber over each other to get outside.
He said: "We pushed our way through the door and found a small alleyway with a lot of people trying to get out.
"There was a lot of traffic, so we closed the [first] door shut and pushed against it to make sure no-one was coming this way, because the bullets were getting louder and closer.
"We kept the door shut and tried to give everyone as much space and time to get out."
After closing the door on clubbers still trapped inside the club's second room Luis then ran outside and through a big hole in the fence to safety.
When quizzed over whether he realised he was trapping potential victims inside, he said: "Yeah, yeah, that was on my mind.
"There was banging and pushing, it was on my mind at that point in time. I tried doing what was best at that moment."
He added: "People were trying to make it out of this door to the parking lot and there was banging and screaming - I thought I was doing the right thing."
However there was confusion over which door was shut, and where clubbers became trapped.
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Another survivor who became trapped behind a blocked door claimed it was the second door, which led outside, that was being held closed.
Janiel Gonzalez told ABC News: "In a moment of desperation we were all crawling on the floor trying to find a place to exit. I looked to my right and I could see people going through some curtains. We were digging through the curtains and we finally see a door."
The survivor explained after a number of people managed to clamber through the first door, they entered the narrow corridor leading to the second door and exit.
He said: "Fifty people were trying to jump over each other trying to exit the place. There was a guy holding the door and not letting us exit. He’s like ‘Stay inside, stay inside.’ As he is saying that, the shooter keeps getting closer and closer and the sound of the bullets is getting closer.
"Everyone starts to panic. People are getting trampled. We're shouting 'Let us out, let us out!’’’
Gonzalez said his first thought was that the attack was a hate crime.
He added: "This guy is trying to prevent us from leaving. Maybe they’re working together."
Stores selling weapon used by Orlando killer see sales rocket from two a day to 15 an HOUR following massacre
Sales of high-powered rifles have soared days after the worst mass-shooting in American history.
A gun shop in Georgia reported a boom in sales of AR-15s after Omar Mateen used one to massacre 49 people at a gay club in Orlando on Sunday morning.
Within three hours 35 AR-15s were sold, with the store usually selling just two a day.
Another gun dealer in Pennsylvania says he has sold around 15,000 semi-automatic rifles on his site since the tragedy.
Customer Deborah Tuff says she was buying an AR-15 so she was prepared in the threat of a future mass-shooting.
Mike Barnell said he was stocking up on three of the guns as he was concerned the price would rise amid gun control talks.
The rifles cost between $500 and $3,000.
Business Insider also says there has been an increase in share prices for major gunmakers on the stock market.
According to Gun Violence Archive, which tracks gun-related deaths in America, 13,429 people were shot dead in 2015 and 5,962 so far this year. Firearm deaths including suicides stand at around 30,000 per year.
Gonzalez and a friend finally managed to escape by knocking a fence over.
Both witnesses described seeing "bodies everywhere" after finally managing to get out of the club.
Gonzalez said he hid in the refrigerator of a 7/11 shop before fleeing to hide in the women's toilets for "25 minutes" as he feared it was an attack on gay men.
Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 more when he opened fire at clubbers at Pulse gay club at 2am on Sunday morning, making it the worst mass-shooting in American history.
Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS in a phone call to 911, making it the worst terror attack in the US since 9/11.
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