Thread: At Least 50 Dead in Orlando Club Shooting, Suspect Identified, Officials Say

At Least 50 Dead in Orlando Club Shooting, Suspect Identified, Officials Say

By David Caplan
Michael Edison Hayden

Jun 12, 2016, 10:39 AM ET

A shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub early Sunday morning has been described as a "domestic terror incident" with 50 fatalities and 53 injured, hospitalized individuals, officials said.

The shooter has been identified by officials as Omar Mateen of St. Lucie County, Florida.

FBI assistant agent in charge of the agency's Tampa division, Ron Hopper, was asked at a news conference on Sunday at 7 a.m. if the shooter, who was shot and killed by police, had ties to Jihadist terror groups.

"At this time we're looking at all angles right now," the official said. "We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings towards that, that particular ideology. But right now we can’t say definitively, so we’re still running everything around.”

The FBI also said the shooter "was organized and well-prepared," adding "he is not from this area."

A police officer working at the club responded to shots fired at 2:02 a.m., and the officer then exchanged fire with the gunman, officials said at the news conference.

It then turned into "a hostage situation," when the gunman when inside the club and took hostages. The gunman had an assault rifle, handgun and "some kind of device on him," officials said. At approximately 5 a.m., the SWAT team made the decision to rescue the hostages, officials said. The shooter was killed in a gunfight with those officers.

There were about 320 people inside the club at the time of the shootings, officials said.

Then at 5:53 a.m. Orlando police tweeted, "The shooter inside the nightclub is dead," referring to Pulse Nightclub, which bills itself on its website as "Orlando's Premier Gay Night Club."

"This can be classified as a domestic terror incident," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said at the news conference.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating this morning's shooting as "an act of terrorism." It said it will determine if it is "domestic or international" terrorism.

In a statement issued around 9 a.m., the White House said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims. The President asked to receive regular updates as the FBI, and other federal officials, work with the Orlando Police to gather more information, and directed that the federal government provide any assistance necessary to pursue the investigation and support the community."

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said at the news conference that "many lives were lost." Orlando Chief of Police John Mina added that "approximately" 20 people we killed, and "at least 42 people" were transported to various hospitals. In an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos following the news conference, Dyer clarified the initial figure, saying the number of dead was "probably in excess of 20 dead."

Orlando Regional Medical Center, located near the nightclub, said it received "several gunshot victims," in a statement released at 5 a.m.

The statement read, "Orlando Regional Medical Center was placed on lockdown around 2:00 a.m. after receiving several gunshot victims. Only essential workers are being allowed access into the building. Out of an abundance of caution, Arnold Palmer Hospital and Winnie Palmer Hospital have also been placed on lockdown."

The hospital, as well as two other area hospitals remained in lockdown, as of 8 a.m. Sunday.

Word of the situation spread shortly after 2 a.m., when Pulse Nightclub posted on its Facebook page, "Everyone get out of pulse and keep running."

Police followed up by tweeting, "Shooting at Pulse Nightclub on S Orange. Multiple injuries. Stay away from area."

Orlando Police tweeted around 4:30 a.m., "This is a fluid scene and we are working on getting you an update."

The next significant update was at 5:48 a.m., five minutes before announcing the shooter's death, when police tweeted, "We can confirm this is a mass casualty situation. Support from local/state/federal agencies."

The FBI was among the agencies at the crime scene, as was the Orlando Fire Department's bomb squad and hazardous material team.

There was a controlled explosion near the shooting scene, but police said it was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter. Police also said the shooting was not connected to Friday's fatal shooting, also in Orlando, of "The Voice" singer Christina Grimmie.

Representative

Dominick Proto contributed to this report.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/multiple-in...ry?id=39789552

Horrible. CNN is calling it the worst mass shooting in US history with 50 dead and 53 injured.

The shooter worked as a security guard for a major security company that does a lot of work for the US government.

CNN states the shooter was born in the United States but his parents are not US citizens. He was 29, so they have been here for a long time.

This is a horrible, horrible crime committed by the offspring of non-citizens. Why are they here? We have enough of our own people to worry about and deal with.

Newmexican posted another thread that states the shooter's parents are from Afghanistan.

Horrible and disgusting.