Gaycation

_

- Yeah. No, we won't. - _

- Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. - Yeah, that's good.

- Thanks. - Thank you.

So, we arrived in Orlando last night,

and, um, the first thing that we wanted to do here

was come to, uh, Pulse,

to pay our respect, uh... and, uh,

we're here because we just want to...

see how the community is feeling and dealing with this and...

and... and just be here for those who...

feel like they... they want to share their story.

Page: In the early hours of June 12, 2016,

in Orlando, Florida,

a gunman opened fire on a gay nightclub called Pulse.

After an hours-long rampage and standoff with the police,

he had killed 49 people and injured 53 more.

It was the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ community

in American history.

We're on our way right now to the hospital

to meet with a survivor of the attack.

His name is Angel Santiago.

He's been apprehensive about sharing his story with the media,

but he has decided to let us talk with him today.

So we're gonna go do that.

- Hey, guys. - Hi.

- Hey. - How are you?

- Daniel: Good. How are you doing? - Santiago: Nice to meet you guys.

- Hi. - Hi.

Can we give you a hug?

- Can we come give you a hug? - Of course, of course.

Bring it in, bring it in.

Mm. Mm.

Thanks so much for coming. I appreciate it.

- Oh, my gosh. - Oh, thank you so much for talking.

I was trying to get you guys in here,

and it was a little bit

difficult with everything going on, but they just...

you know, they want to offer me

- protection because it can get crazy. - Of course.

I mean, thank you for having us, and we want you to be

- protected, as well. - Mm-hmm.

So I'm glad you're taken care of.

Daniel: Where are you from,

and how did you end up in Orlando?

Well, I'm originally from Philadelphia.

Uh, I only moved, uh, to Orlando

in late October.

And, uh, prior to that...

I mean, I lived in Orlando for three years at one point.

One of my friends who I knew

from the first time I lived in Orlando... Jeff...

He was with me that night.

Right around 2:00 is when...

Jeff and I heard the initial shots,

and, like, I remember we looked at each other in the eye,

and he, like, says, like, "Get down."

So, like, we dropped to the ground.

Everybody around us drops to the ground,

and we just heard da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. I'm like,

"Oh, my God, they're, like, shooting in here." So,

I start running.

Um, I slipped and fell 'cause the floor was wet,

but I got back up and I ran into, um...

Jeff and I ran into the men's room,

and in the men's room is, like, a large handicap stall.

So, we... we saw people running in there.

We ran in there, too.

At least 15 of us, if not more, I mean,

I can't remember off the top of my head,

but it was a good amount of people in there.

We were all very quiet. Everyone was, "Shh, shh, shh."

And that's when, in our bathroom,

the shots started coming at us through the stall wall,

and everyone's just screaming.

And I felt...

I felt a shot on my foot.

The shot came through here

and exited down here.

Um, and then the second shot was my knee.

Same thing in and out.

Once the shooter left,

I had heard that he went into the other bathroom,

'cause I heard people start to yell in there,

and I'm talking with Jeff. I'm like, "Jeff, are you okay?"

He's like, "I've been shot."

And he showed me, um, that he was shot right here,

like right on his collarbone. I could see the bullet.

You know, he's bleeding. I see... I'm...

I'm covered in blood.

So...

I decided to go ahead and try to get out of there

so I could get some help for Jeff.

So, I... little by little, I was on my stomach at that point.

I just started pushing myself out.

And I go out into the little hallway

that leads to the bathrooms, and I'm just, you know,

very slowly, being as quiet as I could be,

just dragging myself so I can see something.

And eventually, um, I do see

a police officer or S.W.A.T., I guess. I don't know.

They're like, "Hands up! Hands up!"

Drop! Drop whatever you have! Hands up!"

And I'm putting my hands up, just trying to keep my balance,

and they're telling me to stand up,

and I'm like, "I can't stand up, I can't stand up."

So, I yell out, you know, "I can't stand up." I've been shot."

And they're like, "Well, you need to drag yourself."

Drag yourself to us. Come out."

When I got, like, halfway toward them,

two of the S.W.A.T. guys came to me

and, like, just very, very fast dragged me out of the club.

So, at that point, I was relieved,

and they put me on in the ambulance.

And they hooked me up and they brought me here.

I ended up having two units of blood given to me,

and I stabilized.

And then I was fine after that.

And as far as my friend Jeff,

eventually I found out that he was initially in critical condition,

but now he's stable and he's doing okay.

I'm so sorry, Angel.

I can't, uh...

I can't even, uh, begin to comprehend

- experiencing that, and, uh... -

Well, I mean, I... several people have said that to me,

or I was brave and I was strong.

I mean, I think, I guess, yes, I was strong,

but in terms of bravery, I was scared.

You know, for a long time growing up,

I was confused about who I was.

I didn't accept myself until I was 26.

You know, people say,

"Oh, you know, you choose to be gay," whatever.

That's not true.

I grew up in church my entire life,

and from a very young age, I knew that I was gay.

And did I want to be gay? No.

I did everything that I could not to be gay.

I prayed. I went to church.

I read the Bible. And

my entire life, I'm still gay.

It was a hard road.

And, um, me the other day,

going on TV saying, you know, I'm a gay man.

Five years ago, I would not have imagined me saying that.

Even to my family or friends.

So, I... I'm no longer ashamed of who I am.

As a matter of fact, I'm proud.

I'm sorry, guys.

- Mm-hmm. - It hits me randomly.

- I don't know... I don't know when it's gonna come. - Of course.

- It just comes. - Do not say sorry.

_

Page: Eddie was also at Pulse that night.

He made it out of the club

but lost his friends Juan Guerrero and Drew Leinonen.

Meltzer: It was my friend's 21st birthday,

so we decided to go meet them there.

So, we got there late,

and I decided I just was I was not in the mood.

I wanted to leave.

I went outside, and, you know, literally five minu...

Five minutes later, as I come to find out,

uh, the shooting started.

I call my friend. I couldn't get ahold of him.

And, um, I call my dad, and I said,

"Would you mind calling your friend

and asking if he knows anything about his son?"

And, um...

and my dad's like, "They can't find him."

And so, they got onto a flight and they came down here.

When I met them, it was a frenzy, you know,

trying to find out who's dead

and who's alive, you know, and...

and that was the hardest part.

I've been in hospitals before,

and if you could hear the sound of grieving parents,

it is the most horrible sound in the world.

It is hell.

And that's when I realized what was going on.

After that, I went... I met the families with them,

uh, just in the hotels and the restaurants

and helped them figure out how to go about everything,

how to pick up the body, how to...

How do you find the body,

what do you do with the belongings, um...

Then I met with some of the families', uh, sons' roommates,

and we helped to, uh, get all the belongings out,

and that was very hard because as I was getting stuff out,

I was thinking, "I can't... I can't believe I'm doing this."

I can't believe I'm touching my friend's belongings

that's no longer here and taking them out of his room.

And that's, really, I guess,

when I finally just came to terms with it.

- Um... - So, what are you doing today?

Today, we are gonna go to Juan's and Drew's funeral.

They say that they're going to be buried together.

Can you tell us more about their life?

Yes. Um... They were good people.