A bouncer knocked down a partition between the club area and an area in the back where only workers are allowed. He estimated more than 100 people were still inside when he heard shots, got on the ground and crawled toward a DJ booth. "Everybody was drinking their last sip," he said. "The music stopped."Ĭlub-goer Rob Rick said the shooting started just before closing time. Jon Alamo said he was at the back of one of the club's rooms when a man holding a weapon came into the front of the room. President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack and asked for regular updates on the investigation, the White House said. Mina said that noise was caused by a device intended to distract the shooter. Police had said previously on Twitter that there was a "controlled explosion" at the scene of the shooting. The wounded included one police officer who was shot and suffered injuries to his face, officials said. Please keep everyone in your prayers as we work through this tragic event.
CHARLOTTE GAY BAR SHOOTING UPDATE
Pulse posted on its own Facebook page around 2 a.m.: "Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running." Just before 6 a.m., the club posted an update: "As soon as we have any information, we will update everyone. "The next text said: 'He has us, and he's in here with us,"' Mina Justice said. He told her he ran into a bathroom with other club patrons to hide. She said her son's friend Brandon Wolf made it out alive by hiding in a bathroom and running out as the bullets flew.Ī 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. "These are nonsensical killings of our children," she said, sobbing. She has not heard from her son and fears the worse. after learning of the shooting from a friend of her 32-year-old son, Christopher Leinonen, who was at Pulse and is missing. Smith did not know the conditions of her friends and came out of the hospital and burst into tears.Ĭhristine Leinonen drove to Orlando at 4 a.m. Relatives and friends, many in tears, gathered outside the hospital to learn the fate of loved ones. In addition to the guns, the shooter also had some sort of "suspicious device," Mina said.Īuthorities said they had secured the suspect's vehicle, a van, outside the club. When asked if the gunman had a connection to radical Islamic terrorism, Hopper said authorities had "suggestions that individual has leanings towards that." The attack had nothing to do with religion, he said.įBI agent Ron Hopper said there was no further threat to Orlando or the surrounding area. "We are in shock like the whole country." "We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident," Seddique said. Mateen's father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News about his son seeing the men kissing a couple of months ago.
The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation also confirmed the name. Alan Grayson named the shooter, citing law enforcement officials. The suspect was identified as Omar Mateen of Port St. "This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as domestic terror incident," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said. "I just tried to get out of there."Īuthorities 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. He had an automatic rifle, so nobody stood a chance," Smith said. "Some guy walked in and started shooting everybody. Jackie Smith, who was inside the club, said two friends next to her were shot. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief John Mina said.Īround 5 a.m., authorities sent in a SWAT team to rescue the hostages. The suspect exchanged gunfire with an officer working at the gay club known as Pulse around 2 a.m., when more than 300 people were inside. Mayor Buddy Dyer said all of the dead were killed with the assault rifle. A surgeon at Orlando Regional Medical Center said the death toll was likely to climb. He said that might be related to the attack.Īt least 53 people were hospitalized, most in critical condition, officials said. The gunman's father recalled that his son got angry when he recently saw two men kissing in Miami. It was the worst mass shooting in American history.Īuthorities were investigating the attack on the Florida dance hall as an act of terrorism. A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub early Sunday, killing at least 50 people before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said.