Anderson Cooper Breaks Down on Air While Naming Orlando Shooting Victims

Anderson Cooper earned praise on Twitter Monday after he broke down on live television as he read the names of the 48 identified victims of the Orlando Shooting early Sunday morning.

“We begin tonight with their names. The names of the 48 out of 49 people who have so far been identified,” Cooper started. “The victims of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. A massacre that happened in a gay nightclub just two nights ago.

“There is one name I want to tell you that you will not hear in this broadcast tonight. One picture of a person you will not see. We will not say the gunman’s name or show his photograph. It’s been shown far too much all ready. We want to try to keep the focus where we think it belongs – on the people whose lives were cut short.”

Cooper continued, describing each of the victims as more than just names and sharing brief stories about each, as he began to cry while the victims’ images and names were shared on the screen.

Minutes after the longtime journalist shed tears, viewers took to Twitter praising Cooper for his moving tribute to the victims.

“Truly touching & heartbreaking watching Anderson Cooper choke up talking about the victims in #Orlando on CNN. Crying w/you! #LoveisLove,” one user tweeted.

“Anderson Cooper crying live on CNN as he reads the names of the victims right now is breaking my heart #LoveIsLove #stoptheviolence,” another user wrote.

The tragic incident that had Cooper choked up occurred early Saturday morning at Pulse nightclub in Orlando when an armed man entered the club and opened fire, killing 50 people and injuring another 53.

“I can’t stop crying,” witness Carmen Pena, 30, told PEOPLE. “I feel so sick. It was awful.”

On Sunday, another club-goer described the horrific scene to PEOPLE, adding that it was “the worst experience of [his] life.”

“By the time I found someone to help me, we all would be dead,” Luis Castro added. “I just knew. I had to get out of there. I got out as fast as I could.”

A federal law official later told PEOPLE that the shooter called 911 and declared his allegiance to ISIS before he was shot and killed. The terrorist organization has since claimed responsibility.