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Judge tosses Pulse shooting survivors’ lawsuit against police

The lawsuit alleged police officers didn’t do enough to stop the gunman responsible for the massacre

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A police officer walks by a road closure outside the Pulse nightclub following the Sunday, June 19, 2016, in Orlando, Fla.

AP Photo/David Goldman

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit which claimed police officers didn’t do enough to stop the gunman responsible for a massacre at a Florida nightclub, but he gave survivors and family members two weeks to file another complaint.

U.S. District Judge Paul Byron said Wednesday that the claims weren’t specific enough to allow the city of Orlando and the police officers to make an adequate defense.

The lawsuit named just one police officer who was working security off-duty at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Thirty other officers are merely referred to as “John Doe.”

Gunman Omar Mateen opened fire inside the gay nightclub in June 2016 in a massacre that left 49 people dead. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

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