Orlando News Producer Got Call From Killer

Matthew Gentili

In the midst of the chaos early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub, the team at Brighthouse Cable's News 13 in downtown Orlando was covering the story when a producer took an ominous phone call.

"It was at 2:45 a.m. when I had just received the phone call of someone claiming to be the Orlando shooter," he said. "I answered the phone as I always do: 'News 13, this is Matt.' And on the other end, I heard, 'Do you know about the shooting?' "

Gentili said he was aware of the shooting. "Yes, I'm getting calls. I am hearing reports of a shooting," he replied to the caller, who then cut him off.

"I'm the shooter. It's me. I am the shooter," the person on the other end said.

Gentili said he didn't know what to say. The caller then started to say he committed the shooting for the Islamic State (militant group).

"He did it for ISIS, and he started speaking Arabic," Gentili said of the early morning phone call. "At the time, I didn't know what he was saying. He was speaking so fast. But it was ... he was speaking fluently. Whatever language he was speaking, he knew it. And he was speaking it very quickly. And that is when I said to him, 'Sir. Please. Speak in English, please.'"

Gentili said the caller stopped and said: "I did it for ISIS. I did it for the Islamic State."

Gentili said he asked where the caller was, but the caller said it was "none of my (expletive) business."

Sitting at his desk in the newsroom, Gentili said there was a long pause before he asked one final question.

"It was silent for a while. I asked him: 'Is there anything else you want to say?' " Gentili said. "He said no and hung up the phone."