Victims of hate: First pictures and tributes for those gunned down in Orlando nightclub

The names of some of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting have been released by the City of Orlando, after their next of kin were contacted.


The list will be periodically updated as those who died are identified and families and loved ones notified.
The city gave no additional information. At least 50 people were killed in the attack.

Edward Sotomayor Jr, 34

Edward Sotomayor Jr

Edward was a caring, energetic man known for wearing a silly top hat on cruises, according to David Sotomayor, who said the two discovered they were cousins after meeting at Orlando’s annual Gay Days festival around a decade ago.
David Sotomayor, who lives in Chicago, told The Associated Press that Edward worked for a company that held gay cruises and often travelled to promote the company’s events.
‘He was just always part of the fun,’ David Sotomayor said.
The two texted regularly and kept in touch, last seeing each other earlier this year at a filming of the television reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race, David Sotomayor said.
David Sotomayor is a drag queen who appeared on a season of the show using the name Jade. He said Edward Sotomayor supported him and often sent him Facebook messages. They last exchanged messages late last week.
‘You never think that’s going to be the last time you speak to him,’ David Sotomayor said. ‘It’s just heartbreaking to know it just can happen any time.’

Stanley Almodovar III, 23

Stanley Almodovar III

Stanley Almodovar III’s mother had prepared a tomato-and-cheese dip for him to eat when he came home from his night out.
Instead, Rosalie Ramos was awakened by a call at 2am on Sunday telling her that something had happened.
She told the Orlando Sentinel her son, a 23-year-old pharmacy technician, posted a Snapchat video of himself singing and laughing on his way to Pulse nightclub.
‘I wish I had that (video) to remember him forever,’ she told the newspaper.
A friend, Hazel Ramirez, told the Washington Post she also saw a video from Mr Almodovar on Snapchat and learned on Sunday afternoon what had happened.
She described him as ‘kind, but sassy,’ and someone who was comfortable with his own sexual identity.
‘He was so proud of who he was,’ she told the Post. ‘He would do his make-up better than anyone else. It was so easy to be myself with him.’

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo

Luis described himself as a dancer on his Facebook account.
Following the terrorist attack at the Bataclan theatre in Paris last year, he showed solidarity with the victims by adding a tricolour filter to his profile photo.
A former teacher described him as a ‘ray of sunshine’, the Daily Beast reported.

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22

Juan Ramon Guerrero

Juan told his cousin Robert Guerrero he was gay about two years ago, but he was worried about how the rest of his family would react.
He did not tell them until just before the beginning of this year, and Robert Guerrero, 19, said: ‘They were very accepting. As long as he was happy, they were OK with it.’
On Sunday morning, after learning that so many people had died at a gay nightclub, Pulse, that his cousin had gone to once in a while, he started to become concerned.
Later in the day, his fears were realised when the family learned that Juan Ramon Guerrero was identified as one of the victims.
Robert Guerrero said his cousin worked as a telemarketer and in recent months he started attending college at the University of Central Florida.
He was happy in a relationship with a person his relatives came to regard as a member of the family, he said.
‘He was always this amazing person (and) he was like a big brother to me,’ he said of his cousin.
‘He was never the type to go out to parties, he would rather stay home and care for his niece and nephew.’

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36

Eric Ortiz-Rivera

After moving to Florida from Puerto Rico for the chance of a better life, Eric , a merchandise manager, was said to have ‘sacrificed himself a lot for his family’, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Abismel Colon Gomez, a former roommate of Mr Ortiz-Rivera, told the newspaper: ‘Eric was always willing to help everybody. He loved his brother, and he was always being generous.’

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22

Gonzalez-Cruz

Peter worked for logistics company UPS in Orlando after graduating from Colonia High School.
Originally from South Africa, Mr Gonzalez-Cruz’s cousins paid tribute to him on social media.
One wrote: ‘Rest in peace to my wonderful cousin,’ and another posted: ‘May you rest easy in Heaven.’

Luis S. Vielma, 22

Luis worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios, according to author JK Rowling, who said she could not ‘stop crying’ after hearing the news.
Friends told the Orlando Sentinel that Mr Vielma was a ‘true friend’, and he had hoped to become an emergency medical technician.
One, Olga Glomba, described him as ‘a funny, sweet, nerdy guy without a mean side. He just wanted to make people smile.’

Kimberly Morris, 37

Kimberly Morris

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30

Eddie Justice

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 and Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 (left) and partner Juan Carlos Mendez Perez, 35

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50

Amanda Alvear, 25

Amanda Alvear

Martin Benitez Torres, 33

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26

Mercedez Flores

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26

Enrique L. Rios Jr, 25

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40