Son Sent Heartbreaking Final Texts to His Mother During Orlando Nightclub Shooting

Eddie Justice sent heartbreaking texts to his mother before he was killed in the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.

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Complex Original

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When Omar Mateen opened fire in Orlando's Pulse night club early Sunday morning, several clubgoers hid in the bathroom as they waited for the shooting to stop. Among the people who sought refuge in the bathroom was 30-year-old Eddie Justice, who was eventually killed in the massacre. Justice's mother, Mina, shared the text conversation she had with her son during his final moments.

The first text she received was at 2:06 a.m., NBC reported. It said, "Mommy I love you." The next one read, "In club they shooting." Mina called her son, but there was no answer. She texted him, "U ok," to which he replied, "Trapp in bathroom." The next text from her son read, "Pulse. Downtown. Call police." Then at 2:08 a.m. she received a text that spelled out every mother's worst nightmare: "I'm gonna die." 

Mina Justice dialed 911 and sent her son a series of texts over the next several minutes. "I'm calling them now," she told her son. "Answer our damn phone," "call them," "call me," were some of the other messages she sent in a panic as she tried to do anything to help the situation. 

The next message from Justice came at 2:39 a.m. "Call them mommy," it said. "Now." He told her he was in the bathroom and that the man was on his way. "I'm gonna die," he texted her again. Mina Justice kept texting her son, asking for more information. "Still here in bathroom. He has us. They need to come get us," he told her. 

At 2:49 a.m. she alerted her son that the police had arrived on the scene, but that didn't see to matter at this point. "Hurry. He's in the bathroom with us," he wrote. His mother responded, "Is the man in the bathroom wit u?"

The last text Mina Justice received from her son that night was a response to that question, and the last thing she would ever hear from him: "Yes." 

Here's how you can help the victims of the Orlando shooting. 

 

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