Victim's last Snapchat ends in gunfire

Tributes have begun to flow for victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting, with author J.K. Rowling among those to express her grief.

Amanda Alvear, one of the people killed in the Pulse nightclub

Tributes have begun to flow for victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. (AAP)

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 US history.

Alvear's friend Mercedez Flores, 26, who worked for Target, was also on the list of the 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 have floweed, with J.K. Rowling among those to express her grief.

The author mentioned 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 had worked part time as a rides attendant at the theme park while studying physical therapy at Seminole State College, according to his Facebook 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.


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Published 14 June 2016 6:04pm
Source: AAP


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