Orlando Police officers
direct family members away from a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando
nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Phelan M.
Ebenhack)
ORLANDO, Fla.—A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a
handgun opened fire inside a crowded Florida nightclub early Sunday
before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said. The attack
left at least 50 people dead, making it the worst mass shooting in
American history.
Authorities were investigating it as an act of terrorism.
At least 53 other people were hospitalized, the Orlando mayor said.
“There’s blood everywhere,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the gay club
known as Pulse Orlando around 2 a.m., when more than 300 people were
inside. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief
John Mina said.
Around 5 a.m., authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the
hostages. Police have not determined an exact number of casualties, but
Mina said “approximately 20” bodies were inside the club.
In addition to the guns, the shooter also had some sort of “suspicious device,” Mina said.
Authorities were looking into whether the attack was an act of
domestic or international terror, and if the shooter acted alone,
according to Danny Banks, an agent with the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement.
“This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as
domestic terror incident,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
Emergency
personnel wait with stretchers at the emergency entrance to Orlando
Regional Medical Center hospital for the arrival of patients from the
scene of a fatal shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Fla.,
on June 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
The suspect was identified as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Rep. Alan Grayson named the shooter, citing law enforcement
officials. A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the
investigation also confirmed the name. The official was not authorized
to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of
anonymity.
FBI agent Ron Hopper said there was no further threat to Orlando or the surrounding area.
When asked if the gunman had a connection to radical Islamic
terrorism, Hopper said authorities had “suggestions that individual has
leanings towards that.”
Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a “controlled
explosion” at the scene of the shooting. Mina said that noise was caused
by a device intended to distract the shooter.
A woman who was outside the dance club early Sunday was trying to
contact her 30-year-old son, Eddie, who texted her when the shooting
happened and asked her to call police. He told her he ran into a
bathroom with other club patrons to hide. He then texted her: “He’s
coming.”
“The next text said: ‘He has us, and he’s in
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