A gunman killed 50 people and wounded 53 at a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, yesterday in the deadliest mass shooting in American history.
Omar Mateen, a resident of Port St Lucie, Florida, a city about 120 miles from Orlando, parked his van outside Pulse, a gay nightclub, at about 2am.
He entered the club armed with an AR-15-type assault weapon, a handgun and many rounds of ammunition, and opened fire, said Orlando police chief John Mina.
An armed off-duty officer working security at the club confronted Mateen and engaged in a “gun battle,” Mr Mina said.
The gunman was outside the club at some point after the initial shots were fired, the chief said, then returned inside, and “this did turn into a hostage situation”.
SWAT team
Police then marshalled forces, bringing in a SWAT team and an armoured vehicle. At some point, Mr Mina said, there was contact with the gunman inside.
“There was some communication, but we are not going to release that right now,” the chief said.
It is not known , Mr Mina said, whether the gunman was killing others inside the club as the authorities prepared cautiously for a confrontation.
“Any time we have a hostage situation, we’re definitely going to use extreme measures to make sure we have enough personnel on the scene,” Mr Mina said. At 3am, a post on the club’s Facebook page read, “Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running.”
At some point, police heard from inside the building that at least 15 people were hiding in a restroom.
At 5 am, police began an attempt to rescue the hostages. They detonated two explosives to distract the gunman.
Nine officers entered the club, and shots were again exchanged. Mateen was killed.
One officer was shot in the head, but his Kevlar helmet saved him from serious injury, Mr Mina said.
The gunman was armed with an AR-15-type semi-automatic weapon and a handgun, Mr Mina said. The AR-15-type semi-automatic weapon is the same type of gun used in the mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; Newtown, Connecticut; and San Bernardino, California.
Gun control advocates contend that semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 are a logical choice for mass shootings because of their ability to rapidly fire multiple high-velocity rounds.
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama yesterday said Americans would stand united and “not give in to fear or turn against each other” in the wake of the shooting.
“Today, as Americans, we grieve the brutal murder – a horrific massacre – of dozens of innocent people. We pray for their families, who are grasping for answers with broken hearts. We stand with the people of Orlando, who have endured a terrible attack on their city. Although it’s still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people.”
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, hours after the shooting, said yesterday that he was right about “radical Islamic terrorism” .
“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance.
"We must be smart!" the billionaire businessman said in a posting on Twitter. – (New York Times service/Reuters)