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| Florida Pulse gay club attacked in Orlando - mass casualties | Florida Pulse gay club attacked in Orlando - mass casualties |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A shooting inside a gay nightclub in the Florida city of Orlando has caused mass casualties, police say. | A shooting inside a gay nightclub in the Florida city of Orlando has caused mass casualties, police say. |
| Orlando Police also said in a tweet that the shooter inside the Pulse Club, located in the heart of the city, is now dead. | Orlando Police also said in a tweet that the shooter inside the Pulse Club, located in the heart of the city, is now dead. |
| A bomb squad and hazardous material team were at the scene, and a controlled explosion was carried out. | |
| Relatives have been gathering at local hospitals desperate for news. | |
| Live updates | Live updates |
| A man who had been inside the club described a situation of chaos outside as the number of casualties became apparent. | |
| "There were just bodies everywhere," Christopher Hansen said. "In the parking lot, they were tagging them - red, yellow - so they knew who to help first and who not help first. Pants down, shirts cut off, they had to find the bullets. Just blood everywhere." | |
| Footage from the scene showed dozens of emergency vehicles at the scene and people being treated on the pavements. | |
| Some of the injured were reportedly brought to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in police pick-ups. | |
| One woman said she had received a text message and phone call from her daughter inside the club, who said she had been shot in the arm. | One woman said she had received a text message and phone call from her daughter inside the club, who said she had been shot in the arm. |
| One of the first people to tweet from the scene, local TV reporter Stewart Moore, said earlier the attacker was suspected to have had a bomb, and had taken people hostage. This has not been confirmed by the police. | |
| Some witnesses said they heard as many as 40-50 gunshots as the incident unfolded. | |
| More than 100 people were reported to have been enjoying a Latin-themed night in the club, which calls itself the hottest gay bar in the city, when the attack began. | |
| Ricardo Negron Almodovar told BBC News that the shooter opened fire at around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), as the club night was coming to a close. | Ricardo Negron Almodovar told BBC News that the shooter opened fire at around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT), as the club night was coming to a close. |
| "We heard rapid fire go off. In the room I was in, people went down to the floor. I wasn't able to see the shooter or people get hurt. | "We heard rapid fire go off. In the room I was in, people went down to the floor. I wasn't able to see the shooter or people get hurt. |
| "At some point, there was a brief pause, and a group of us got up and went to the exit that leads to the patio area outside. We found an exit and after that... I just ran." | "At some point, there was a brief pause, and a group of us got up and went to the exit that leads to the patio area outside. We found an exit and after that... I just ran." |
| Another man, Anthony Torres, said he heard people screaming that others in the nightclub were dead. | Another man, Anthony Torres, said he heard people screaming that others in the nightclub were dead. |
| According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, there were 372 mass shootings - defined as a single incident that kills or injures four or more people - in the US in 2015. Some 475 people were killed and 1,8760 wounded. | |
| The latest incident comes as Orlando is still reeling from the fatal shooting on Friday night of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie following a concert in the city. | |
| She had been signing autographs when she was shot by 26-year-old Kevin James Loibl, who then killed himself. It is not clear what Loibl's motive was. | She had been signing autographs when she was shot by 26-year-old Kevin James Loibl, who then killed himself. It is not clear what Loibl's motive was. |
| Were you at the Orlando Pulse nightclub? Or nearby when the incident happened? | Were you at the Orlando Pulse nightclub? Or nearby when the incident happened? |
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