Man hit in back in Orlando shooting played dead to survive

Carmen Feldman, of Orlando, cries while visiting for the first the scene of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting from a block away Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (The Associated Press)

prev next

Carmen Feldman, of Orlando, right, cries while visiting for the first the scene of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting from a block away with Jose Garcia, left, Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (The Associated Press)

A tattoo of hands clasped in prayer decorate the arm of Dennis Buscemi, of Orlando, as he takes a picture of the scene of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting from a block away Friday, June 17, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (The Associated Press)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Felipe Marrero wakes up in his hospital bed in the middle of the night and thinks he smells gunpowder.

That's just one of the problems he's suffered after being shot four times in the back and arm during the Sunday shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that left 49 victims dead. Gunman Omar Mateen was killed in a firefight with police.

Marrero says he dropped to the floor of the club when Mateen started shooting and played dead while bodies surrounded him.

He says the shots stopped after about an hour, as though Mateen were reloading. Then he was hit in his lower back and left arm, which was shattered.

Marrero says he's starting to heal but knows he has a long road.