Unreal Photos Taken Before the Most Tragic Moments in History

A gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida was attacked on June 12, 2016, when Omar Mateen opened fire on club-goers. The shooting became the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter and the deadliest act of violence against the LGBT community. The shooting lasted for three hours, as Mateen brutally murdered victims with a Sig Sauer MCX rifle and a Glock 17 9mm semi-automatic pistol that can hold 17 rounds. Those still alive were held hostage during the standoff with police. Moments before, and during the attack, victims took videos and sent messages to loved ones. Amanda Alvear was one of the victims in the attack. She took video and posted it on Snapchat just as the first shots were fired into the club. When officers first responded to the horrifying scene, they yelled out this haunting line, “If you’re alive, raise your hand.”

Being a combat photographer means putting yourself in danger every day on the job. Army Specialist Hilda Clayton was doing her job in Afghanistan, documenting a live fire training exercise in July of 2013. However, something went wrong during the exercise and a mortar tube exploded, unplanned. Clayton was killed just seconds after taking this photo, along with four soldiers of the Afghan National Army.

In 2017, a photo was discovered deep within the National Archives. This particular photo is of great importance because it appears to show missing aviator Amelia Earhart and seems to indicate that it was taken post-crash. This means that although she initially survived the crash, we don’t know her fate as she was never seen alive again by those searching for her. The photo, although intriguing, doesn’t answer the 80-year-old mystery of her disappearance.

Pictured here is legendary Beatle, John Lennon, as he signs autographs for fans outside of his New York City apartment. The man standing next to him is Mark David Chapman, who shot and killed Lennon just moments after this photo was taken. It is one of the most famous assassinations in human history.

Anna Sergeeva was a 25-year-old beautician embarking on a vacation. She booked a last-minute flight to the city of Rostov-on-Don, where she had lived prior to moving to UAE to work in the beauty industry. The photo above shows a selfie Anna snapped before the flight took off. Devastatingly, it would be her last. Flight FZ981 crashed in southern Russia killing all 62 passengers and crew members on board.