'Tell them I'm in the bathroom. He's coming. I'm gonna die': Terrified last text son sent to his mother as Orlando terror unfolded

  • Mina Justice said she was outside gay nightclub Pulse Orlando trying to contact her son Eddie who texted her when shooting happened
  • She said he asked her to call police before taking cover in a bathroom
  • His final text to her read: 'He has us, and he's in here with us' 
  • Police said a gunman shot dead at least 50 people and injured 53 others in a crowded gay nightclub in Florida early Sunday
  • The gunman was then killed by in a gunfight with SWAT officers
  • Police said the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism
  • See more Orlando shooting news as victim sent terrified text to his mother

A mother has recounted the last text she received from her terrified son after a gunman opened fire inside a Florida nightclub early Sunday.

Mina Justice was outside the club trying to contact her 30-year-old son Eddie Justice, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police. 

He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide and then wrote 'he's coming.'

'The next text said: "He has us, and he's in here with us,"' Mina Justice said. 'That was the last conversation.' 

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Mina Justice was outside the club trying to contact her 30-year-old son Eddie, who texted her when the shooting happened
Screen captures from text messages

Mina Justice was outside the club trying to contact her 30-year-old son Eddie, who texted her when the shooting happened and asked her to call police (texts shown above)

Justice said her son told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide and then wrote 'he's coming'

Justice said her son told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide and then wrote 'he's coming'

The next text message read, 'I'm gonna die' before his mother told him to stay put and asked if anyone was hurt

The next text message read, 'I'm gonna die' before his mother told him to stay put and asked if anyone was hurt

Screen captures from WFTV appearing to showing the messages between the mother and son showed Eddie had sent his mother a text saying 'I love you' before informing her there was a shooting taking place.

'Mommy I love you. In the club they shooting,' a text from Eddie Justice to his mother read.

'U ok,' she responded before her son wrote back 'trapp (sic) in bathroom.'

His mother then asked which club he was in and asked him to call her. 

'Call them momm (sic). Now. I’m tell I’m bathroom. He’s coming. I’m gonna die,' Eddie wrote.

His mother then responded: 'They say stay them (sic) is anybody hurt. Which bathroom u in.'  

Mina Justice said she was going through hell as she stood outside the nightclub waiting to learn more information regarding the shooting.

She told WOFL her son Eddie told her he was being held hostage inside a women's bathroom and that he was going to die.

'I think it’s all of them in the bathroom. I could hear a lot of people crying,' she told the station as she recalled a phone conversation with her son. 

Mina Justice is pictured outside the club as she waited to learn more. She said her son had been held hostage inside a women's bathroom as the terror unfolded

Mina Justice is pictured outside the club as she waited to learn more information. She said her son was being held hostage inside a women's bathroom as the terror unfolded

The worried mother-of-three said she did not know if her son was okay or how many other people were with him inside the bathroom. At this time, his condition is not known.

She mentioned she heard at the time that there were two shooters involved and that people were hurt. 

When asked how her son sounded, she responded: 'Bad, just afraid he's gonna die.'

The mother told WOFL that at one point during her correspondence with Eddie, she made him get off the phone with her and text instead while she asked him questions because he was fearful he was going look at the shooter and get shot. 

'He [Eddie] said, "He has us and he's fixin to kill us. That was it,"' the mother told the station.    

Police said a gunman, who has since been identified as US citizen Omar Matten, shot dead at least 50 people and injured 53 others in a crowded gay nightclub before being killed by police in what authorities described as a 'domestic terrorism incident'. 

Police Chief John Mina also said the shooter had some sort of 'suspicious device.' 

He said the suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the club around 2am, then went back inside and took hostages.

Around 5am, authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the hostages, and the suspect then died in a gunfight with those officers. 

An estimated 320 people were inside the club at the time of the shooting. 

Orlando Police officers direct family members away from the shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando

Orlando Police officers direct family members away from a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Florida on Sunday

A woman covered in blood is pictured standing outside Pulse Orlando of the shooting which is being investigated as a 'domestic terrorism incident'

A woman covered in blood is pictured standing outside Pulse Orlando of the shooting which is being investigated as a 'domestic terrorism incident'

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Danny Banks said during a news conference that the mass shooting is being investigated as an act of terrorism. 

He says authorities are looking into whether this was an act of domestic or international terror, and if the shooter was a lone wolf.

'This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as domestic terror incident,' said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a 'controlled explosion' at the scene of the shooting at Pulse Orlando. 

Mina said that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter. 

Dozens of police vehicles, including a SWAT team, swarmed the area around the club. 

At least two police pickup trucks were seen taking what appeared to be shooting victims to the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Pulse Orlando posted on its own Facebook page around 2am: 'Everyone get out of pulse and keep running.' 

Police said a gunman shot dead about 50 people and injured 53 others before being killed by police in what authorities described as a 'domestic terrorism incident'

Police said a gunman shot dead about 50 people and injured 53 others before being killed by police in what authorities described as a 'domestic terrorism incident'

Bystanders wait down the street from Pulse Orlando. Dozens of police vehicles, including a SWAT team, swarmed the area around the club

Bystanders wait down the street from Pulse Orlando. Dozens of police vehicles, including a SWAT team, swarmed the area around the club

Just before 6am, the club posted an update: 'As soon as we have any information we will update everyone. 

'Please keep everyone in your prayers as we work through this tragic event. Thank you for your thoughts and love.'

Police said local, state and federal agencies were investigating.

The incident follows the fatal shooting late Friday of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, who was killed after her concert in Orlando by a 27-year-old Florida man who later killed himself. 

Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on 'The Voice.' 

On Saturday, the nightclub had posted on their Facebook announcing they were putting on a 'Latin Night.'

Another post advertising the night read: 'Calling all our Latinos, Latinas & everyone that loves a little Latin flavor! It's time to party tonight! Here's a little something to play while getting sexy tonight!'

On Saturday, the nightclub had posted on their Facebook they were putting on a 'Latin Night' and invited club-goers to come party. Then around closing early Sunday, witnesses recalled a man walking in and gunshots ringing throughout the club

On Saturday, the nightclub had posted on their Facebook they were putting on a 'Latin Night' and invited club-goers to come party. Then around closing early Sunday, witnesses recalled a man walking in and gunshots ringing throughout the club

The club posted on its Facebook page around 2am: 'Everyone get out of pulse and keep running'

The club posted on its Facebook page around 2am: 'Everyone get out of pulse and keep running'

Just before 6am, the club posted an update: 'As soon as we have any information we will update everyone'

Just before 6am, the club posted an update: 'As soon as we have any information we will update everyone'

Around the time for closing during early hours on Sunday, witnesses recalled a man walking in before gunshots rang out through the club. 

Jon Alamo said he was at the back of one of the club's rooms when a man holding a weapon came into the front of the room. 

'I heard 20, 40, 50 shots,' Alamo said. 'The music stopped.'

Club-goer Rob Rick said it happened around, 2am, just before closing time.

'Everybody was drinking their last sip,' he said. 

He estimated more than 100 people were still inside when he heard shots, got on the ground and crawled toward a DJ booth.

A bouncer knocked down a partition between the club area and an area in the back where only workers are allowed. People inside were able to then escape through the back of the club.

An emotional woman waiting outside Orlando Regional Medical Center is pictured as she stands among a group of others waiting

An emotional woman waiting outside Orlando Regional Medical Center is pictured as she stands among a group of others waiting

Police did not immediately name the gunman or provide a possible motive for the attack but officials have classified the rampage as a 'domestic terrorism incident'

Javer Antonetti, 53, told the Orlando Sentinel he was near the back of the dance club when he heard gunfire. 

'There were so many (shots), at least 40,' he said. 'I saw two guys and it was constant, like "pow, pow, pow."'

Christopher Hansen said he was in the VIP lounge when he started hearing gunshots. 

He continued to hear shooting even after he emerged, where police were telling people to back away from the club. He saw injured people being tended to across the street.

'I was thinking, are you kidding me? So I just dropped down. I just said please, please, please, I want to make it out,' he said. 

'And when I did, I saw people shot. I saw blood. You hope and pray you don't get shot.'

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