AS bullets tore through a packed nightclub just after midnight, 32-year-old Christopher Leinonen was gunned down by a sick shooter. He was one of the 49 victims of the Orlando Pulse massacre.
Now, 10 years on from the tragedy, his heartbroken mum says he could have survived the harrowing attack – had Orlando Police not taken nearly eight minutes to raid the building and three hours to neutralise the gunman. Here, grieving Christine tells the Sun that delays in taking down the shooter turned a night of horror into an even greater tragedy.
Christine Leinonen says her son Christopher would be alive today if police had responded more quickly Credit: Christine Leinonen
Police officers directing family members away from the fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in June 2016 Credit: AP:Associated Press
Christopher, 32, and his boyfriend, Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, were killed in the horror shooting Credit: Christine Leinonen
The Pulse nightclub shooting claimed 49 lives and is the second deadliest mass shooting in America to date Credit: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be publish
On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire at the Florida nightclub, killing 49 and injuring 58 others, before being shot dead by police three hours after the first shot rang out.
The club, which was hosting a Latin-themed event, was packed with more than 300 people when 29-year-old Omar Mateen stormed the building and started gunning down those on the dance floor.
In the years following the shooting, Orlando Police faced increased scrutiny over their response to the terror attack, the deadliest in the US at the time since 9/11.
Asked if her son could have survived had cops acted differently that day, Christine tells The Sun: “Absolutely.”
She says: “My son was such a good human being… he finally met the man he was going to marry… It’s just an injustice all the way around.”
Belinnette Ocasio-Capo believes her late brother, 20-year-old Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, would also still be alive if police had raided the building more quickly.
“If they had acted sooner, I promise you my brother would have been here with us today,” she says.
One report in 2018 claimed that 16 of the tragic victims died after suffering “survivable wounds”.
Christine says her son was likely one of those who, according to the review, could have survived the attack if they’d received basic medical treatment within the first 10 minutes of being shot.
Tragic Christopher was struck nine times on the dance floor on two separate occasions.
He was shot four times in the back leg in the first round, and then a further five times in the chest several minutes later as police remained outside the club.
The bullets missed all of his vital organs – meaning he wasn’t killed instantly.
Christine adds: “He bled to death – none of those [shots] would have killed him, they didn’t hit major organs.”
Had police officers attempted to engage Mateen when he ran back into the building and started firing at bodies on the floor, Christopher may have lived, she claims.
Belinnette’s brother, who went by his middle name Omar, was only shot once, but it took police 30 minutes to get him out of the building before he bled to death in an overcrowded hospital nearby.
His sister says: “Seeing the camera footage of police just on their phones chilling while my brother was literally bleeding out for over 30 minutes when they could have saved them…
“You’re supposed to do your job and follow procedure… I honestly don’t think they did.”
She adds: “They suck, they did absolutely horribly.”
A new book detailing the “mistakes” made by local cops, co-written by Christine, says: “Officers egregiously violated active shooter protocol.”
The mum tells us: “I mean, it was pathetically incompetent. This is the worst response ever in the history of the United States.”
She adds: “They took over three hours to get to a shooter whose assault rifle was jammed, all he had was a little Glock handgun with 45 rounds.
“He already spent 30 of the rounds during that first 10 minutes, so he’s only got 15 rounds, and this is a 1,300 square foot building that basically has two rooms.”
About 10 minutes into the shooting, a hostage situation began when Mateen entered a bathroom and opened fire on those hiding inside.
At this point, his rifle jammed, leaving him armed only with a pistol.
Belinette and her siblings Luie and Berto in their last photo with their brother Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo (R) before he died Credit: Belinette Ocasio-Capo
Unredacted footage appeared to show officers running away from the club before waiting for more cops to arrive Credit: City of Orlando
Omar Mateen was shot dead three hours after the first bullet was fired Credit: Polaris / eyevine
Swat teams pictured at the scene on June 12, 2016 Credit: AP:Associated Press
The sick killer told police over the phone he was wearing a bomb vest, and that his car was packed “with enough explosives to take out city blocks” – a claim which turned out to be false.
He also pledged his allegiance to ISIS during the terrifying ordeal.
Christine, a former cop, claims police should have been able to tell that Mateen was lying about carrying explosives.
“That could have been discerned very easily by any competent police officer,” she says.
“They could have easily just talked to witnesses who saw that this guy came in there with a pair of shorts on and a shirt… where’s his explosives?
“He didn’t have a backpack… he never, during the three minutes he was shooting people, tried to put explosives on anyone.
“They got surveillance cameras from the shop next door – they could see that there was nothing being put on anyone.”
About three hours after Mateen entered the nightclub, police then used explosives to breach the exterior bathroom wall.
The shooting killed 49 people and left 58 others injured Credit: AP:Associated Press
The Pulse nightclub, where Omar Mateen carried out the massacre Credit: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
The bombs didn’t work, so cops instead started ramming a truck into the building to break down the wall.
It took multiple attempts as they breached the wrong area of the building.
Around this time, the gunman opened fire once more, spraying bullets at hostages still cowering inside the bathroom stalls.
The renewed gunfire finally prompted police to hurl flashbang grenades into the restroom, forcing the killer from cover before he was shot dead.
Christine alleges that Orlando Police pushed a false narrative in the years following the tragedy – and insists that survivors and victims alike deserve to know the truth.
She claims authorities emphasised that officers had rushed inside the building heroically within the first few minutes of shots being fired – a fact she disputes.
The mum also claims police did not follow active-shooter protocol, which outlines that officers should “stop the killing”, then “stop the dying”.
She says: “The police chief kept pushing these false narratives on the media that kept getting regurgitated.
The shooting was the deadliest America had seen at the time Credit: AFP
FBI agents investigate the damaged rear wall of the Pulse Nightclub Credit: Getty Images – Getty
“He even gave the police officers Medals of Valor, which they accepted, even though they had to have known that they didn’t do what the chief was saying they were doing.
“He said the police officers immediately went in, engaged the shooter, forced him into the bathrooms, they saved a lot of lives, they kept doing rescues.
“None of that is true. It’s all false. It’s all lies that were kept told to the media over and over and over again.”
Christine also outlined the fight she and others have gone through to be able to look at unredacted body cam and security footage from the night of June 12 to get real answers and true closure.
The grieving parent, alongside survivor advocate Zachary Blair, also pushed to obtain a shocking photo of a drinks fridge blocking a door inside the club.
The image, released in 2025, prompted further concern over the club’s design and safety measures.
Christine says: “We ended up getting enough body cam and audio from the officers in interviews where we were able to compile the actual story of what happened, and it was a complete and utter police failure.
“Just the fact that somebody was able to walk into a bar that’s full of alcohol with an AR-15, and there was no security at the door.
A photo of the Pulse nightclub appeared to show a Coca-Cola machine blocking a door, after the image was released in 2025 Credit: FACEBOOK/NoPulseMuseum
Police attempted to break the walls down with explosives, and then a truck Credit: Splash News
“He didn’t sneak his way in, he didn’t shoot his way in, he walked right in the front door of a club.”
Belinnette explained that her sibling Omar was one of the people who was trapped in the room where the fridge had been blocking a door.
“There were so many individuals that could have been here today if it wasn’t for neglect… I mean there’s no other way to see it,” she says.
Christine has also launched the No Pulse Museum campaign to fight plans for a proposed $45million memorial, which she blasted as a hollow “tourist attraction”.
She rallied more than 45,000 signatures against the project, arguing the vast sum would be better spent supporting survivors and victims’ families.
The nightclub itself was demolished in March, and a simpler, cheaper memorial is set to be completed next year.
Christine says: “When I learned the owners of Pulse were going to be putting up this spectacle of a museum as if that were going to honour my son, I knew that went against everything that my son stood for.
“It’s just a compounding misery that so many people have felt for 10 years.
“In some regards, it feels like just yesterday. It’s just the fact that we’ve been lied to, and the true stories have never been told.
“It’s like we have this open wound that never gets to heal, and we deserve
to have these wounds heal, and we deserve to have the truth.”
And Belinnette says: “From the bottom of my heart, it just seems like these people really didn’t matter at all, but to me, my brother mattered.
“He was 20 years old and he was one of the most amazing people I’ve ever experienced living with… he was my baby.”
She adds: “We’re trying to close this chapter and get justice because he deserves it, and I just want people to know that he was an amazing person, so he didn’t deserve to die like this.”
The Sun reached out to Orlando Police for comment.