The post in question was written by a man calling himself Cody Agnew, who posted it on Facebook on Sunday. It stated that he knew a woman who had survived the killing spree despite being shot 12 times and having 11 bullets removed since.
Agnew claimed that the woman, who he described as "coherent" and "fairly stable," said there had been three gunmen in the gay nightclub on the night of the attack, and not just one.
The controversial post, which has since been deleted, claimed there were "bits of information that the media aren't telling us."
"There are two others that were in the club slaughtering people last night that were not caught," the post read. "They are still out there and they are armed and dangerous. The media is not reporting this because they don't want to scare everyone, but I think it's important that people know."
The post quickly went viral after being posted across a number of social media sites, including Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as many tried to figure out just what the truth was.
Orlando
— not Goy (@BankersDidIt) June 14, 2016
witnesses
1.Janiel Gonzales second man holding the door shut
2.Javer Antonetti (53) I saw 2 guys
3. Cody Agnew 2 other shooters
@seanhannity I just saw a post from a Cody Agnew that there were 2 other shooters in the club. Can anyone verify this?
— LuAnn Smith Dawson (@cali_43) June 14, 2016
As the story continued to gain traction, arguments arose over whether Omar Mateen was a lone wolf or part of a group of shooters in the club, with even the Orlando Police Department tweeting to say that "rumors of multiple shooters are unfounded."
Alert: Rumors of multiple shooters are unfounded. The one shooter, Omar Mateen, is dead #OrlandoUnited
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 13, 2016
It was also picked up by Snopes, the self-described "definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation," which also said Agnew's claims were false.
The mass shooting in Orlando was carried out by a lone gunman, not multiple shooters. https://t.co/NwJBlBMO40 pic.twitter.com/b0DsQGn54m
— snopes.com (@snopes) June 13, 2016
"It is incredibly unlikely that someone could have been shot twelve times at close range by such a powerful rifle and not only survive, but be coherent enough later the same day to be able to recount exactly how many people were shooting at victims during a chaotic situation in a dark and crowded nightclub," Snopes wrote.
Comment: Perhaps, but then perhaps, while this particular testimony may be inaccurate, or even false, the general impression, based on multiple eyewitness testimonies of people who were actually there (as opposed to people who claim they were there), that multiple shooters were present, is accurate?
The website also sourced a Scientific American article from 2010 that detailed how eyewitness accounts coming out of highly stressful situations are not always reliable.
Comment: Snopes, as usual, cherry-picking data to toe the official line. It could equally be said that the eyewitnesses' initial statements to the press carry more weight because they were spoken by those present before they were primed by vectors of the dominant narrative.
Other social media users, however, aired doubts about the true nature of the tragic incident, claiming it was a "false flag" event and an "inside job."
Yet another report of multiple shooters and someone blocking the exit~ https://t.co/zu8r2DVxte #OrlandoShooting #FalseFlag
— wake up (@WakeUpMFers) June 13, 2016
#OrlandoShooting #OrlandoUnited LIES you are being lied to #FalseFlag #OmarMateen if he was there didn't act alone pic.twitter.com/RLsP9YKAAp
— They Live News (@TheyLiveNews) June 13, 2016
There was More than One Shooter at Pulse in #Orlandohttps://t.co/BrY9QdqPFz
— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) June 13, 2016
That caption of the little girls shrugging looks pretty stupid now we are told by a witness it was fully automatic ;
4:37 rapid fire - guy in base ball cap says fully automatic fire, but we are told weapon used in semi automatic!
So what is it - was he furnished with a military version having worked for US Homeland security contractor or did he modify it?
Hell but i am a "damage limitation, disinformation peddler" .... isn't that right Brandon Martinez?
Something else for you Brandon;
"Real life is not like the movies. People are surprisingly hard to kill. Bullets, even from an AR-15 “assault rifle” do not leave one person to kill others"
Sorry just had to get that out of my system.