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Orlando 'terror' attack: what we know so far from deadliest shooting in US history
(about 5 hours later)
What happened?
What happened
A mass shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida, took place in the early hours of Sunday morning and has become the deadliest in US history.
A gunman killed 50 people and left 53 others injured, many seriously, in a 2am attack on Pulse nightclub, in Orlando, Florida. After an hours-long standoff, police stormed the building, killed the gunman and rescued about 30 hostages.
A lone gunman entered Pulse nightclub armed with an assault rifle, a handgun, and wearing a “suspicious device”. He started shooting, and a police officer who was on duty at the nightclub exchanged fire with the man.
Worst US mass shooting
A hostage situation developed and was resolved three hours later, at 5am local time, when Orlando police and Swat teams blasted into the nightclub, rescuing about 30 people and killing the gunman.
The massacre is the worst mass shooting in American history, and like several recent mass shootings was committed by a man with an AR-15 assault rifle. The suspect also carried a handgun.
Worst shooting on US soil
First victims named
Approximately 50 people have been killed and 53 hospitalised after the shooting, police confirmed. This makes it the deadliest shooting on US soil.
Authorities released the first names of victims, after notifying kin. The first four people named were Edward Sotomayor Jr, Stanley Almodovar III, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, Juan Ramon Guerrero. Survivors and the families of victims recalled horrific stories of how the attack unfolded, and many waited in fear and anticipation to learn whether their loved ones were victims.
Police initially announced that there were roughly 20 dead and 42 injured. At the time they did not have complete access to the nightclub, which they were still trying to make sure was clear of potential explosive devices. After securing the club they announced the death toll was higher than initially thought.
Gunman identified
The shooter
The gunman was identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a US citizen from Fort Pierce, Florida. He was known to the FBI, special agent Ron Hopper told reporters, and the subject of two investigations into terror links in 2013 and 2014. Those investigations were deemed inconclusive and closed, he said. The shooter called 911 before the attack and spoke with an emergency operator in “general to the Islamic State”, Hopper said. No terror group has claimed responsibility.
The shooter is believed to be Omar Mateen, 29, from Florida, a US citizen of Afghan heritage. Police say they have a “positive identification” of the shooter but have not announced a name as they are still notifying his family.
Motivations discussed
Was it terrorism?
A US official told the Guardian the attack may have been a “massive hate crime”. Mateen’s father told NBC News that his son had become enraged by a gay couple kissing, and the gunman’s ex-wife told the Washington Post that he was an abusive and unstable man.
At the first press conference after the attack, the FBI described the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and said they were investigating whether the suspect had acted alone or had any ties to groups in the US or abroad.
Guns were purchased legally
Asked about a link to jihadi terrorism, FBI agent Ron Hopper said: “At this time we’re looking into all angles. We do have suggestions that that individual may have had leanings toward that particular ideology. But right now we can’t say anything definitively.” He later appeared to backtrack on the links to terrorism, saying officials were pursuing all lines of inquiry.
Mateen bought a long gun and a handgun in the past week, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms said: “He is not a prohibitive person so he can legally walk into a gun dealership.”
Later in the day, the Florida senator Bill Nelson said intelligence officials “believe that there is some link to Isis”, though he later clarified there might be links to “radicalism, not necessarily Islamic State”. There has been no claim of responsibility from any group.
Obama leads political reactions
Law enforcement professionals refused to be drawn on potential motive at a second press conference. Speaking to the media, Buddy Dyer, Orlando’s mayor, would not be drawn on potential motives for the crime. “We don’t know what the motive was and we don’t want to speculate at this point,” he said.
Barack Obama declared the attack “an act of terror and an act of hate”, and cautioned that the investigation was still in its early stages. “No act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.” Hillary Clinton also used the word “terror” and condemned the attack on the LGBT community. Donald Trump castigated the president and said he should “step down”, for “disgracefully refus[ing] to even say the words ‘Radical Islam’”.
How it unfolded
Communities react
At approximately 2am on Sunday, a police officer working at Pulse responded to shots fired and engaged in a gun battle with the suspect. The suspect at some point entered the nightclub and a hostage situation began.
Muslim American leaders, LGBT groups, Pope Francis and others condemned the horrific attack, and urged Americans to rally together. The FBI solicited the public for tips to aid the investigation, blood banks asked for donations around the US, and a fundraising campaign for victims’ medical bills raised $416,000. Authorities set up hotlines for information and campaigns for donations.
Dozens of officers and federal agents responded to the shooting, and police began receiving messages from inside the club from at least 15 people, saying they were hiding in various parts of the establishment, including the toilets.
At approximately 5am police decided to rescue the hostages, fearing further loss of life. They set off two “distractionary devices”, blowing apart a wall so a Swat team could storm the club. The suspect was killed in the ensuing gunfight. At least 30 people were saved during the rescue, said police chief John Mina.
Police found an “assault-type rifle”, a handgun and “some kind of device” on the suspect’s body, and began working to clear the nightclub of any suspicious items, which took several hours. Mina said there were “no witness accounts of a second shooter”.
