The mother of a young man who is still unaccounted for after a gunman opened fire with an assault rifle the Pulse nightclub in Orlando Sunday morning has a powerful and devastating plea for more gun control.
"This is a club that nobody wants to be in," Christine Leinonen said in an interview with ABC. She had been waiting for news of her son, Christopher, since early that morning, she said.
"Please, could we do something with the assault weapons so that we could stop this club from ever getting any new members," she said. "I beg all of you, please."
Leinonen woke up at 3 a.m. on Sunday to find a Facebook post from her son's friend Brandon saying there had been a shooting and he couldn't find his friends. Brandon was in the bathroom when he heard gunshots and ran for the door. He saw Christopher's boyfriend being taken away in an ambulance with multiple gunshot wounds -- but saw no sign of Christopher.
Leinonen left her son a message the night before. "I left him with 'I love you, Chris,'" she told ABC, holding back sobs. "[The police] said there's a lot of dead bodies at the club, that it's a crime scene. They can't identify anybody."
Christopher, who started the Gay Straight Alliance at his high school, was recognized with an award for his work within the LGBT community.
"I've been so proud of him for that thing. Please let's all just get along. We're on this earth for such a short time. Let's try to get rid of the hatred and the violence please," his mother said.
Fifty people died and 53 were injured after a gunman identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen stormed an LGBT nightclub at 2 a.m. on Sunday. Officials are investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.
Mother Of Man Missing After Orlando Shooting Pleads For Gun Control
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