ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Police Chief John Mina will never forget that 2 a.m. text from his lieutenant and then the phone call, June 12.
“When he called, he said there had been shots fired at a nightclub,” Mina recalled.
The hours that followed brought the now infamous standoff with Omar Mateen, armed with a semi-automatic rifle and determined to kill as many as he could at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
Tuesday marks 30 days since the final death toll was confirmed by Mayor Buddy Dyer that Sunday afternoon - 49 lives silenced.
“Honestly, we knew it was much more than 20 before that (press briefing), but we didn’t want to put out an inaccurate number," Mina said. "We knew people would be shocked by that and devastated.”
During an exclusive interview with News 6, Mina admitted his toughest decision was “authorizing the explosive breach into the club” and that, to this day, he has not entered the Pulse.
“I didn’t want the images of that crime scene to cloud my judgment," Mina said.
Still he said he will be entering the building “within the week.”
“Words are going to be meaningless," he said. "I think a moment of silence or reflection will be appropriate."
Mina said he agreed with the decision to have the FBI take over the investigation, calling it, "100 percent the right call.”
He is convinced Mateen’s assault was an act of terrorism, and feels Congress should change central Florida’s status so that federal funding can be made available.
Mina said the Orlando area has not received funding over the past three years.
“Frankly, we let them know that the formula needs to be changed, and we’ve been told that has to be done at a congressional level. Hopefully we can get the funding we need," Mina said.
Mina and Demings are slated to testify at 9 a.m before the Homeland Security subcommittee.