FBI Special Agent Ron Hopper said the bureau was still working to determine whether sexual orientation was a motive in the Orlando attack. The Islamic State has repeatedly executed gay people and released videos showing their gruesome executions. It was unclear whether anyone was injured during the gunman's final shootout with officers, although authorities said one Orlando police officer was shot but that his Kevlar helmet saved him. Officials at nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center said at least nine people died at the hospital or were dead when they arrived.
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Police ultimately chose to end the standoff because of concerns about the health and safety of dozens of people who were injured and trapped inside. "That is when you do wait," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not an authorized spokesman. For three hours, the gunman was on the phone with police and no shots were fired. law enforcement official said officers delayed their assault on the gunman because the active-shooter scene turned into a hostage negotiation once the gunman called 911. A clear timeline of events, including when the victims were killed and injured and who shot them, remained elusive.Īuthorities declined to offer details. It was unclear, for example, how a lone gunman managed to hold so many people inside the nightclub for so long, whether any of the clubgoers tried to stop him and why police waited three hours to intervene. But late Sunday, many questions remained unanswered. Others hugged, shook and softly cried as grief counselors and law enforcement officials milled about.Ĭondemnations of the carnage in downtown Orlando flooded the airwaves from officials and pundits across the political spectrum. Another woman crumpled in her chair, crying, and was taken out in a wheelchair. One woman sat in a chair next to a stack of pizza boxes, sobbing and screaming. On Sunday evening, as the names of the dead began to trickle out, the scene in the hotel's sweltering lobby turned tragic.
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Throughout the day, relatives and friends of missing clubgoers gathered at a downtown Hampton Inn & Suites to await news of their loved ones. Until Sunday, the 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech - in which 32 people died - was the country's worst mass shooting. "As Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people,'' Obama said during a brief speech at the White House, where he said the FBI is investigating the Orlando massacre as an act of terrorism. In Washington, police stepped up patrols ahead of the Capital Pride Festival, one of dozens of gay pride events scheduled this month across the nation and around the world. But it also ignited fears of a broader campaign against the American gay, lesbian and transgender community as the first anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage approaches. (Melissa Lyttle for The Washington Post.)The shooting raised fresh alarm about the ability of overseas terrorists to wreak havoc on U.S. During the call, Mateen made reference to the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon, officials said.īill McKinney, who was at Pulse until 1:15 am, attends a vigil in Orlando. law enforcement officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the FBI investigation is unfolding. After his initial assault on the dance club, Mateen called 911 and pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, according to U.S. The gunman was identified as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old security guard who was born in New York to Afghan parents. "We're dealing with something we never imagined and is unimaginable," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, D, who declared a state of emergency in the city. Many of the victims were Latino the club was celebrating "Latin Night.'' Police said the toll could have been even greater had a SWAT team not rescued 30 people and shepherded them to safety. Some had their calves and forearms blown off, doctors said.
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Victims flooded local hospitals with gunshot wounds to their chests, legs and arms. Witnesses described scenes of horrific carnage. He then held others hostage in a three-hour siege that ended when police stormed the building and killed him. President Obama labeled the rampage " an act of terror and an act of hate.'' The gunman fired bullets seemingly at random inside the popular Pulse nightclub, forcing panicked patrons to dive onto the dance floor, crawl across the ground and scramble out a back entrance. A gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State opened fire inside a crowded gay bar and dance club here early Sunday, leaving 50 people dead and 53 injured in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S.