Orlando: At least 50 people were
killed and more than 50 others were wounded when a gunman opened fire and took
hostages at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday morning.
The
shooter, identified by several law enforcement sources as Omar Mateen, 29, was
killed in a shootout with law enforcement after a three-hour siege.
The
attack is the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the 9/11
attacks of 2001. The attack is also the deadliest mass shooting in United
States history and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people
in US history.
The
massacre began when the gunman stormed the Pulse Nightclub about 2 AM ET with
an AR-15 type rifle and a handgun, officials said. The carnage ended about 5 AM
ET, when 11 Orlando police officers and three Orange County sheriff’s deputies
stormed the nightclub and exchanged fire with Mateen, authorities said. City
officials said about 300 people were in the club at the time of the shooting.
FBI
evidence specialists arrived Sunday night at Mateen’s home in a condominium
that had been evacuated shortly after dawn, authorities told NBC News. They
took their time in case Mateen's unit might be booby-trapped, but authorities
said late Sunday that no devices were found, and residents were allowed back
home about midnight.
Seddique Mir Mateen,
Mateen’s father, said that “this has nothing to do with religion” in
spite of reports that his son had declared his allegiance to ISIS.
A law enforcement
official told NBC News there is no indication that Omar Mateen was in touch
with terrorists overseas and nothing to indicate this was a directed attack.
Also, several officials say, there’s no sign that anyone else was involved in
the attack, either in helping Mateen or egging him on.
The father said his
son got angry when he saw two men kissing in Miami a couple of months ago and
thought that might be related to the shooting.
“We are saying we are
apologizing for the whole incident. We weren’t aware of any action he is
taking. We are in shock, like the whole country,” Seddique Mir Mateen said.
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