Yes, they said, it has a predominantly gay clientele, but it catered to everyone.Ĭallen said he wished he had a place like that when he was an 18-year-old in Indiana. Like several people interviewed Monday, they took exception to media descriptions of Pulse as a gay bar. A three-hour hostage situation ensued, ending. Pulse was like a second home to the couple after they moved from Indiana, and found new acceptance in Florida’s more socially liberal climate. Clubgoers were enjoying an evening at Pulse, which describes itself as the hottest gay bar in Orlando, when shots started to go off around 2 am. Now they’re grappling with the shock of losing close friends. READ MORE: Days before Orlando shooting, Barack Obama warned of ISIS sympathizers legally buying guns in U.S. “He said if he ever messed with him again, you know how it’ll turn out.” A shooting and hostage situation early Sunday morning at a Florida nightclub - which describes itself as 'Orlando's hottest gay bar' - left an estimated. They said they decided to keep their distance from Mateen after he exploded in anger at a joke told by one of their friends, possibly about religion: “He ended up pulling a knife,” Callen said. largely unnoticed and uncommented upon aside from jokes that were made at. In separate interviews, both Callen and Smith described one incident that unnerved them. The massacre at an Orlando gay club is being talked about by politicians as an. “He’s been going to this bar for at least three years.” READ MORE: Orlando shooting gunman may have been ‘homegrown extremist’: FBIīoth professed shock at seeing his face on TV: “It’s the same guy,” said Callen, who performs under the name Kristina McLaughlin. Ty Smith and Chris Callen recalled the eventual killer being escorted drunk from the Pulse bar on multiple occasions, including one incident where he pointed a knife at a friend. ORLANDO, United States - Omar Mateen was more than just a homicidal, jihadist-inspired homophobe when he shot his way through an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning, according to a couple of the establishment regulars.Ī drag-dancing married couple described seeing Mateen as many as a dozen times at the gay-friendly nightclub where he’d later embark on the single worst gun massacre in modern American history. Send this page to someone via email email.