Pulse nightclub: A haunting look inside before the mass shooting site is razed
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nine years after a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ+-friendly nightclub in central Florida, killing 49 people, bullet holes can be seen in walls while glittering disco balls and lit-up bulbs on dressing room mirrors make the venue seem frozen in time.
The Associated Press and other media outlets on Monday were allowed for the first time inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando where a gunman opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others. The attacker, Omar Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed after a three-hour standoff with police.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
28 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Doctor who supplied ketamine to Perry, called him ‘moron' will plead guilty
Published Jun 16, 2025 • 2 minute read Matthew Perry appears at the GQ Men of the Year Party in West Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2022. Photo by Willy Sanjuan / Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. LOS ANGELES — A doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the Friends star's overdose death has agreed to plead guilty, authorities said Monday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Dr. Salvador Plasencia has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, federal prosecutors said in a statement. They said the plea carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Plasencia is expected to enter the plea in the coming weeks. According to a co-defendant, Plasencia called the actor a 'moron' who could be exploited in a text message. The physician had been one of the primary targets of the prosecution, along with a woman accused of being a ketamine dealer. Three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their co-operation. Plasencia and the woman, Jasveen Sangha, had been scheduled to start trial in August. An email to his attorney seeking a comment was not immediately answered. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common. Read More Perry, 54, began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him. About a month before the actor's death, he found Plasencia, a doctor who in turn allegedly asked the other doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to Chavez's plea agreement. 'I wonder how much this moron will pay,' Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Santa Monica, Calif., where Plasencia practised, and San Diego, where Chavez practised, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry's 'go-to,' prosecutors said. Plasencia initially visited Perry's house and injected him with ketamine himself. He showed Perry's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, how to inject it and subsequently dealt with him, according to Iwamasa's plea agreement. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Perry was also getting ketamine from another source, Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major dealer and supplied the dose that killed the actor. Sangha has pleaded not guilty — making her the only one of the five people charged in Perry's death who has not entered a plea agreement. She remains jailed as she awaits trial. Plasencia was freed on bond after his initial court appearances. Erik Fleming, a friend of Perry who said he acted as a middleman and drug messenger, has also pleaded guilty and has been co-operating with prosecutors. None of the defendants have yet been sentenced. Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends , when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
After a calm night, LA mayor shortens downtown curfew hours imposed after violent protests
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a calm night in downtown Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass on Monday slightly trimmed the hours of a curfew imposed last week after days of violent protests and looting that followed President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Bass' announcement that the nightly curfew would be narrowed — it will start at 10 p.m. Monday, rather than at 8 p.m., and extend until 6 a.m. Tuesday — followed the disclosure that there were no arrests by police in the area on Sunday. The mayor's office said the slightly trimmed curfew time reflects a marked reduction in violence, vandalism and looting in downtown that followed the protests. When the curfew was imposed on June 10, officials said it was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators looking to cause trouble. At the time, Bass said the city 'reached a tipping point' after 23 businesses were looted. In a statement Monday, Bass said 'the curfew, coupled with ongoing crime prevention efforts, have been largely successful in protecting stores, restaurants, businesses and residential communities from bad actors who do not care about the immigrant community.' Bass has given no indication when the curfew will end. The curfew covers a relatively tiny slice of the sprawling city — a 1-square-mile (2.5 square kilometer) section of downtown that includes the area where protests have occurred. Last week, Trump ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the second-largest U.S. city following protests over his stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. On Sunday, Trump directed federal immigration officials to prioritize deportations from Democratic-run cities, a move that comes after large protests erupted in Los Angeles and other major cities against his administration's immigration policies.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Georgia man charged with leaving threatening messages for 2 Republican senators
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia man accused of leaving threatening voicemails for two Republican U.S. senators appeared in federal court to face charges Monday. Robert Davis Forney, 25, of Duluth, Georgia, was arraigned in Atlanta on two federal counts of communicating threats in interstate commerce, according to court records. A grand jury indicted him last week. 'Threatening our elected officials and their families is an act of violence that undermines our entire democracy,' U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. 'Political discourse and disagreements never justify resorting to vile attacks against our nation's leaders.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW According to prosecutors, Forney called the office of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in January and left voicemails that threatened sexual violence against Cruz and his family. Forney left a similar voicemail threatening sexual violence against Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer the next day, authorities said. A federal public defender assigned to Forney's case didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment about the charges.
