Those living near Pulse displaced after massacre
ORLANDO (FOX 13) - Almost everyone in Orlando can tell a story about how the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub immediately affected their day-to-day lives.
Some stories may never make the news or stay between private friends and family. Others may seem small, in the dark shadow of lives lost and injuries sustained.
And some stories are unexpected in how they remind us of how a tragedy can ripple out into the community. One such story is that of Brett Moots. He lives in an apartment across the street and a couple of buildings over from Pulse.
Since the shooting, he’s had to live elsewhere.
“I’m not allowed to be in there without an officer, so I can't stay there, I can't shower there, I can't do my laundry there...I can't rest there,” he explained to FOX 13 News.
Moots, however, said his current living situation was not really a concern.
He was one of the first civilians to arrive at the scene of the shooting, and was one of the first to post images of flashing lights and wounded survivors who made it into the street.
“We were headed home around 2:15. We were just blinded by the police lights and were told we couldn't go any further. So we took a back road to my apartment, and got inside and opened the window to my living room. We were just astounded at how many police officers we saw out there,” Moots recalled.
He said he looked online for information about what was happening, but came up empty. Nothing had been reported about the shooting. So he began posting videos on Twitter.
“By the time that I was taking videos and posting them, I don't think that anyone had even posted anything about it yet,” Moots said. “I saw people with gun wounds, and I saw people covered in blood. Just, like, the adrenalin rush of seeing all that happen is just, like, you don't really, you don't have time to take back and really process what's going on. Until I woke up the next day, I didn't really understand the magnitude of it ‘till then, and how many people were actually affected by it.”
As for his living arrangements, he will probably be displaced through the weekend.
“Fortunately, I have friends that are giving me their homes and their couches and letting me use their washing machines, and dryers,” he said, reiterating how small he feels his living situation is compared to those who lost life and limb. “My heart really goes out to everyone…The Latino community, the LGBT community, and everyone involved… I'll be okay, there is so much of more importance than me sleeping on my friend's couch.”