Heartbreak as names and faces of Orlando massacre victims made public

The faces and details of more and more loved ones snuffed out by the single worst massacre of LGBT people are coming to light.

On Sunday, the Orlando police began to release details of some of the 49 victims gunned down by 29-year-old Omar Mateen at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The ages of the dead thus far range from 20 to 50, with most in their twenties and thirties – all victims of hate fuelled violence that ended their lives much too soon.

The tragedy was exemplified by Mina Justice who discovered that her son, 30-year-old Eddie, was among those trapped in the club on Sunday morning.

His heartbreaking texts from inside the venue during the shooting captured the public imagination and suggested the horror of what the victims endured.

“Mommy I love you. In club they shooting,” the terrified Eddie, an accountant, texted to his mother.

He continued to communicate with her for about an hour as he hid in the club, writing, “Call them mommy … Now …He’s coming … I’m gonna die.”

He went on to text: “Still here in bathroom. He has us. They need to come get us. Hurry. He’s in the bathroom with us. … He’s a terror.”

When Mina asked him if he was still hiding in the bathroom, he replied with a final text, “Yes”.

The mother’s desperate hope that Eddie may have survived or was among the injured was dashed when it was confirmed that he had been killed.

Eddie and Mina’s story is just one of the tragedies being faced by many families in the US today.

On Monday, Orlando Police said that the official death count from the nightclub shooting was 49 victims. The killer, Omar Mateen, was the 50th fatality.

Below are the names of the dead that have been released so far:

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

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