Victim's last Snapchat starts with dancing, ends in gunfire

(Editor's note: this story has content that may upset some
readers)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - Amanda Alvear's last Snapchat
video post begins with a shot of her on the dance floor of an
Orlando nightclub surrounded by friends. It ends with gunshots
ringing out over the music.
Alvear, 25, was identified by police on Monday as one of the
49 people killed by a gunman at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando,
Florida, in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Alvear's
friend Mercedez Flores, 26, who worked for Target, also was on
the list of 46 named victims released so far by the Orlando
Police Department.
On Monday, Alvear's sister, Ashley Velez posted a photo of
the pair, writing: "two beautiful souls have been taken way too
soon. My sister Amanda is on the right and her best friend
Mercedez Flores. You girls will be missed."
Social media tributes to the victims of the massacre flowed
Monday as authorities confirmed their names. Author J.K. Rowling
was among the best known to express her grief, mentioning a man
with a tangential connection to her "Harry Potter" works.
"Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal,"
Rowling posted on Twitter. "He was 22 years old. I can't stop
crying. #Orlando"
Vielma, 22, had worked part time as a rides attendant at the
theme park while studying physical therapy at Seminole State
College, according to his Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) profile.
Rowling retweeted many of the recollections of Vielma's
friends, including Twitter user Melissa A. Gibbo, who posted:
"@jk_rowling Trust me, you would have loved him. He was the guy
in the breakroom you liked four seconds after walking in."
Also on the list of victims released by police were Jean
Carlos Mendez Perez, 35, and Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37. The
Orlando Sentinel reported the couple fell in love when Perez
charmed Wilson-Leon into buying a bottle of perfume at the store
where he worked.
"That pain so big feels my heart to see their names on that
list.... Rest in peace my beloved friends!!!!" wrote
Tommy-Emanuel Quinones-Garcia.
In the hours after the nightclub shooting and before police
had released his name among the dead, friends of student Martin
Benitez Torres, 33, had been searching for any sign of his
safety.
"Please, I need your number it's urgent call me I left my
number inbox," a frantic Myriam Torres wrote on Sunday morning
at 5:32 a.m., when police were midst a stand-off with the gunman
inside the club.