Orlando Shooting Victims Arrived In 'Truckloads And Ambulance Loads': Doctor

Orlando, FL — Sitting in a wheelchair in the safety of Orlando Regional Medical Center on Tuesday Angel Colon described the horror he witnessed when shots rang out in a crowded nightclub early Sunday morning.

Already wounded after being shot three times in the leg, Colon was on the floor at the Pulse Orlando Night Club & Ultra Bar with a shattered left leg when Omar Mateen began firing into the bodies of those already dead.

“He shoots the girl next to me,” Colon said during a Tuesday press conference. “I’m thinking, ‘I’m next, I’m dead,’” he said.

Mateen fired toward Colon’s head, but hit his hand. He fired again, striking Colon in the hip.

As Colon continued to hear shots all around him, he remained very still, hoping to avoid capturing Mateen's attention again. That’s when a police officer—whose face and name Colon cannot remember—came and pulled him to safety.

Colon was taken to ORMC, where staff members quickly rallied in the early morning hours Sunday to treat the wounded. 

A total of 50 people, including Mateen, were killed in Sunday's attack. Fifty-three others were wounded, Colon, a Polk County resident, among them.

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“We didn’t quite know what was about to hit us,” said Dr. Gary Parrish, medical director of ORMC’s emergency department.

It was around 2 a.m. on Sunday when the hospital received notice of gunshot victims coming in. At first a few patients trickled in and then it was five. Before long, they “started lining up in the hallway,” said Dr. Kathryn Bondani. “They were being dropped off in truckloads and ambulance loads.”

Before long the trauma bay was full to capacity, and phone calls started going out for additional support.

“In a matter of 30 minutes, we had multiple surgeons coming through the doors to help us out,” Bondani said.

Parrish said the Orlando area has a “very advanced EMS system” where paramedics generally are able to notify the hospital when they are en route about patient status and anticipated needs.

There was no such notice Sunday morning, but that didn’t stop hospital staff from pouring through the doors to help.

Dr. Chadwick Smith said as he began to call in surgeons and others to assist, he couldn’t help but remember the response he received.

“Every time (I called), the answer I got was, ‘I’ll be right there,’” he said. “I just cannot say enough about how we increased our resources to the level of need in a very short period of time.”

ORMC still has 27 patients in its care following Sunday’s terror attack, described as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Six of those patients remain in intensive care. 

As for Colon, he cannot say enough about the care he's received since the terror unfolded Sunday.

"This hospital is amazing," he said.

Several fundraisers are ongoing to assist the victims of Sunday’s attack. Equality Florida has set up a GoFundMe campaign and the state has opened its Florida Disaster Fund, as well.