LEHIGH ACRES FGCU softball team helps Habitat for Humanity build three homes The Florida Gulf Coast University softball team helped Habitat for Humanity build three homes Saturday.
ESTERO Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans Veterans hit the green at the Copperleaf Golf Course on Saturday. This was part of the Home Base golf tournament.
FORT MYERS At least one person dead after propane truck collides with golf cart Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that has left one person dead and another injured Saturday morning.
Scattered storms ahead for your Saturday plans The Weather Authority is tracking weekend temperatures in the low to mid-90s this weekend with a chance for scattered storms this afternoon.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 3 Thunderstorms tried to put a stop to week three of high school football on Friday Night, but gridiron action prevailed.
Man accused of plotting murder-for-hire denied bond A man suspected of being involved with a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars. Ryan Toranzo had his renewed motion to set bond denied today in Collier County Court.
LABELLE Two dead after crash on State Road 80 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there was a crash on State Road 80 that has left at least one person dead Friday evening.
DeSoto County looks to recruit more teachers While it can sometimes be easy to fill a classroom with students, it is not so easy for teachers. Schools across the nation and locally in Southwest Florida are still dealing with the challenges of teacher shortages. With class back in session, so is teacher recruiting for DeSoto County schools. The assistant superintendent, Jake Reynolds, […]
IMMOKALEE ROAD Push for change after deadly crash on Immokalee Rd. We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.
FORT MYERS BEACH Mobi-Mats deployed on Fort Myers Beach A walkway to paradise! Brand new and blue, the Mobi-Mat is making things easier for Fort Myers Beachgoers.
NAPLES Women of Steel business conference inspiring and empowering women Focused, hardworking, empowered. These women have made a name for themselves as Women of Steel.
NAPLES Beloved Collier County bus driver retires after 20 years After 20 years of getting kids to school safely, a beloved Collier County bus driver is retiring.
Wade Wilson has new death row mugshot Convicted double-killer Wade Wilson has a new death row mugshot.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Sizzle Dining is back in SWFL It’s Sizzle Season! Local restaurants are ready to welcome new faces by offering exclusive menu deals to attract new customers.
LEHIGH ACRES FGCU softball team helps Habitat for Humanity build three homes The Florida Gulf Coast University softball team helped Habitat for Humanity build three homes Saturday.
ESTERO Home Base Golf Tournament helps SWFL Veterans Veterans hit the green at the Copperleaf Golf Course on Saturday. This was part of the Home Base golf tournament.
FORT MYERS At least one person dead after propane truck collides with golf cart Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that has left one person dead and another injured Saturday morning.
Scattered storms ahead for your Saturday plans The Weather Authority is tracking weekend temperatures in the low to mid-90s this weekend with a chance for scattered storms this afternoon.
WINK NEWS SWFL Scoreboard: High School Football Week 3 Thunderstorms tried to put a stop to week three of high school football on Friday Night, but gridiron action prevailed.
Man accused of plotting murder-for-hire denied bond A man suspected of being involved with a murder-for-hire plot will stay behind bars. Ryan Toranzo had his renewed motion to set bond denied today in Collier County Court.
LABELLE Two dead after crash on State Road 80 According to the Florida Highway Patrol, there was a crash on State Road 80 that has left at least one person dead Friday evening.
DeSoto County looks to recruit more teachers While it can sometimes be easy to fill a classroom with students, it is not so easy for teachers. Schools across the nation and locally in Southwest Florida are still dealing with the challenges of teacher shortages. With class back in session, so is teacher recruiting for DeSoto County schools. The assistant superintendent, Jake Reynolds, […]
IMMOKALEE ROAD Push for change after deadly crash on Immokalee Rd. We’re told the woman was driving with two kids in the car when a semi ran a red light and hit her Thursday morning.
FORT MYERS BEACH Mobi-Mats deployed on Fort Myers Beach A walkway to paradise! Brand new and blue, the Mobi-Mat is making things easier for Fort Myers Beachgoers.
NAPLES Women of Steel business conference inspiring and empowering women Focused, hardworking, empowered. These women have made a name for themselves as Women of Steel.
NAPLES Beloved Collier County bus driver retires after 20 years After 20 years of getting kids to school safely, a beloved Collier County bus driver is retiring.
Wade Wilson has new death row mugshot Convicted double-killer Wade Wilson has a new death row mugshot.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Sizzle Dining is back in SWFL It’s Sizzle Season! Local restaurants are ready to welcome new faces by offering exclusive menu deals to attract new customers.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Patience Carter lay bleeding on the floor of the bathroom in club Pulse. She recalled looking into the stall next to her, and seeing bloody handprints on the wall and people draped over a toilet. Some were dead, others moaned in agony. She turned her head to see her best friend, lifeless. Then she heard the voice. “Where is it?” the man demanded when he heard a ringing cell phone. “Give it up.” She was safe now – reclining in a hospital chair, a white blanket draped over her lap and legs as she told her story Tuesday to a packed news conference at an Orlando hospital. Her words transported a rapt audience to the horrific moments of early Sunday, when a nightclub turned into a slaughterhouse. Carter, a 20-year-old Philadelphian, was visiting Florida for the first time, vacationing with her two friends. Her friends’ parents drove them to Pulse that evening after they saw it had five-star reviews on Google. When they walked in, they started chatting with others immediately. “The sweetest face greeted me,” said Carter. “I told her that her shoes were the cutest I’ve ever seen.” That woman let Carter be her plus-one, so they could save on the cover charge. Amanda Alvear, the kind woman with the cute shoes, would not survive the night. Carter and her friends, Tiara Parker and Akyra Murray, danced and laughed. “We were just all having the night that we dreamed of,” she said.” It was the most beautiful bonding experience three girls could have on their first night on vacation.” At 2 a.m., just before the club was about to close, Carter tapped at her phone to order an Uber ride. “That’s when we started hearing the gunshots,” she said. Maybe, she thought, it was something the DJ was playing to get people to leave. “I was so confused.” She and Murray had separated from Parker and were in the outdoor patio area. Carter insisted on going back inside for her friend. The shots continued and the trio ran to a bathroom with other panicked clubgoers. It all seemed so unreal. “I was even Snapchatting in the bathroom stall,” she said. And then, the unthinkable: The shooter entered the bathroom and sprayed bullets. Blood was everywhere. “At that point, we knew this wasn’t a game. This was very real. It was shock; we just went from having the time of our lives to the worst time of our lives in a matter of minutes.” Carter was shot in the leg, and tried to wedge herself into the next stall. She heard the shooter make a phone call to 911. He said he wanted America to stop bombing his country. “We knew what his motive was. He wasn’t going to stop killing people until he was killed,” she said. She thought she heard the shooter talk with other co-conspirators. He said he had snipers outside. She could not believe one man could cause all this mayhem. The gunman walked out and they heard more gunshots. Over the next long minutes, people texted loved ones and tried to call 911 themselves. The man came back into the bathroom and ordered all to silence their phones. She watched as his feet backed into the stall where she was lying. “Hey you,” he said to one man. Then he shot him. And another person, and another. One of those people shielded Carter, sparing her life but losing her own. Then a SWAT team broke through a concrete wall with a battering ram, busting the water pipes. The shooter and police exchanged gunfire and water flooded the floor. “If they don’t get to me soon, I’ll die in pile of bloody water,” she recalled thinking. She managed to pull herself into the other stall and sit up. She’d already been talking to God. “I really don’t think I’m going to get out of there,” she thought. “I made peace with God. Just please take me, I don’t want any more. I was just begging God to take the soul out my body.” But then, she was free. A SWAT team member picked her up and dragged her by the arms through the grass. Akyra, her friend, didn’t make it. She had just turned 18.