Videos show inside of Pulse nightclub before, during massacre

ORLANDO, Fla. - Pulse nightclub shooting survivor Chriss West described those who regularly partied at the club in Orlando as “a family.”

That family changed forever the early hours of June 12, with the loss of 49 lives.

But, he told CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG-TV, the evening started out with love, fun and friendship.

“That night seemed like it was beyond fun for me,” said West. “We look good, we feel good.”

Videos West took that night show the club was packed.

“The excitement, the adrenaline, the drinking, the good times, the laughter, the joy in people’s faces,” said West. “It was just so much fun there. I mean, the experience of Pulse was just one you couldn’t compare to any club in Orlando. It was a second home to all of us.”

·        Inside Pulse nightclub video 1

·        Inside Pulse nightclub video 2

·        Inside Pulse nightclub video 3

·        Inside Pulse nightclub video 4

·        Inside Pulse nightclub video 5

·        Inside Pulse nightclub video 6

But at around 1:55 a.m., he said, something didn’t feel right. West described two men, one of whom he now believes was Omar Mateen, as well as another, acting suspiciously.

“My friend came up to me and said, ‘Are they looking at our jewelry?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know, but I have a funny feeling about these people.”’

West said his mom picked up the same vibe, and headed to the patio to smoke a cigarette.

“We got to the patio and my best friend told me, ‘Chriss, go get my husband,”’ said West.

“I looked at her and said, ‘But we just left them’, and she said, ‘Chriss, go get my husband now.”’

He said seconds later is when they heard the gunshots start inside the club.

“That’s when I said, ‘Everybody get down!’ and that’s when my best friend’s husband screamed, ‘Everybody get down!”’ said West. “It got silent for about three seconds. All you hear is the tables rumbling and the chairs moving and people scattering all over. And I said, ‘Do you taste it?’ And he said, ‘Do you taste it?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s getting closer!’ The gunpowder, we tasted the gunpowder.”

“I knew in that moment, when people were coming through the patio door shot already, that he was coming to the patio. I said, ‘Oh, my God, Mom, we got to go!’ He stopped at the bathroom and shot in the bathroom right before you enter through the patio. When he shot, I was able to turn to the patio with my mom, and my two best friends went in front of me, so when we turned, all we felt was the impact of the lady behind us who got shot, because the gentleman came out and started shooting at the patio, at the people who were climbing the fence. Forget ‘a minute to win it’ - it was like a second to get out.”

Around 2:04, West, his mom and friend escaped the patio, and that’s when his mom pressed “record.”

The videos show countless moments of panic: screaming, flashing lights, people running, gunshots, scrambling for safety.

Some of the first officers arrive in seconds.

“You can see them escorting us out, jumping out of the car, taking out the shotguns, telling us, ‘Go over there, go over there,”’ said West. “All you can hear the ‘kik kik’-- you can hear the gun shots still going off inside Pulse night club. It’s intense, it’s insane, not knowing if you are going to make it, let alone your best friends or your mom. I couldn’t trust anyone. Anyone around me and anyone around my friends or my mom.”

The videos begin to show other club-goers and first responders helping the wounded out of the club.

They show people walking, looking for help, bloody-- while other people continue to scream, terrified by what they see.

“There was so much going on, people running out with blood, people terrified, finding their friends, looking for their loved ones,” said West. “Body after body kept coming in front of us deceased, shot. That was intense, it’s tough.”

“You get to see the people who have gone on to the afterlife, their last moments, the police encounter with how they handled the situation, how surreal how real it was.”

These moments, though tough, were some he felt compelled to share.

“I have so many people on my camera on my SnapChat,” said West. “Family members need to reach out to me so I can share these videos. If they see their family members or friends or last moments of whatever moments they have, whether it was outside of Pulse, the inside of Pulse, the fun moments. Help someone smile. Talk about the good times, the bad times, the bad times sometimes make the good times better.”