ORLANDO, Fla. — Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others at Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016.
Ron Hopper was the FBI's Assistant Special Agent in Charge when his phone rang before sunrise that morning.
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"It's bad. There's over 20 dead. One of the officers. And I said I'm on my way," Hopper said.
He raced to the scene as the shooter inside pulled the trigger more than 140 times in a matter of minutes. Over the span of hours and a SWAT standoff, the gunman killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others.
"Absolutely the most horrific scene that I have been either involved with or tasked with leading in my career so far," Hopper said.
Within moments of the shooter being neutralized, Hopper found himself coordinating a massive law enforcement response.
"I literally within a minute of the shooter being neutralized, had over 11,200 law enforcement officials working at my direction," Hopper said.
The case became one of the largest and most scrutinized investigations in FBI history. Investigators quickly determined it was an act of terror from a man who had previously been on the FBI's radar and who stated his allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State.
"You had the eyes of the country and the world watching this investigation," Hopper said. "Yes, unfortunately, so, yes, we did. That was a lot of pressure, but an investigation was thorough and intensive. But I can tell you the first two weeks there was well over 900 pieces of evidence."
Ten years later, Hopper says the motive and the messaging about why Pulse was targeted weren't always clear.
"There was a ton of misinformation," Hopper said.
For years, many believed the gunman chose Pulse because it was a gay nightclub. But Hopper says the evidence told a different story.
"When he walked into the club, he confronted a security guard, and his first comment was, 'Where are all the chicks at tonight?' He had no idea he was in a gay nightclub," Hopper said.
The FBI investigation found the shooter had driven past other crowded nightclubs that night before settling on Pulse — not because of its clientele, but because of access.
"He had driven by a couple of other nightclubs earlier that evening and could not find parking. He happened to find parking at the Pulse nightclub," Hopper said.
Now an undersheriff in Seminole County, Hopper says the weight of that night never really leaves.
"You know, I probably think about it at some point, almost daily," Hopper said.
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