This Marine veteran saved dozens during Orlando shooting

A Marine veteran was able to use his military training to save dozens of lives during the Orlando terrorist attack. — (Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A Marine veteran may have saved as many as 70 people thanks to his quick thinking when gunfire broke out at the Orlando nightclub on Sunday. Imran Yousuf, formerly based in Afghanistan, worked as a bouncer at Pulse and recognized the sound of gunfire instantly:

"You could just tell it was a high caliber," said Yousuf, a former sergeant who just left the Marine Corps last month. That's when his Marine Corps training kicked in, he said. He ran toward a locked door that people had huddled around, too terrified to move."I'm screaming 'Open the door! Open the door!'" Yousuf told CBS. "And no one is moving because they are scared."There was only one choice — either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there." [Marine Corps Times]

He added, "I have lost a few of my friends that night which I am just finding out about right now and while it might seem that my actions are heroic I decided that the others around me needed to be saved as well and so I just reacted."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.