Orlando Police: ‘Multiple injuries’ after nightclub shooting

Police Chief John Mina said at a Sunday news conference that the shooter used the assault rifle, with unknown rounds, and also had a handgun.

Orlando city Mayor Buddy Dyer said that 50 have been killed and 53 are injured. The friends made it out OK, but Jose said he had no idea if Miguel was at the hospital or was one of the bodies lying dead in the club.

The suspect was identified as Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The suspect, who has not been identified, was killed by law enforcement in an exchange of gunfire.

Authorities said they had secured a van owned by the suspect outside the club.

He said that to get the job, gun laws require Mateen to train with weapons, including fulfilling the required eight hours on a shooting range.

“He was not a stable person”, she said.

The previous deadliest mass shooting in the US was the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech, where a student killed 32 people before killing himself.

Breaking coverage of the shooting has preempted Sunday morning talk shows including Meet the Press. Law enforcement officials told NBC News that the shooter had contacted 911 shortly before the massacre and had pledged allegiance to ISIS.

His statement also thanks the first responders.

“Ultimately, we were unable to verify the substance of his comments, and the investigation was closed”, Hopper said.

Authorities were looking into whether the shooter acted alone, according to Danny Banks, an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

– October 1, 2015: A shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, left 10 people dead and seven wounded.

The White House said Sunday, several hours after the incident, that Obama has been briefed and has asked for regular updates as the FBI and other federal officials work with Orlando police on the case.

Mateen was reportedly known to law enforcement, but was not the target of an investigation.

Police say approximately 20 people have been killed inside a Florida nightclub, and at least 42 were wounded. The gunman then went back inside and took hostages, Police Chief John Mina said.

“This is an incident, as I see it, that we certainly classify as domestic terror incident”, said Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Omar Mateen was armed with a powerful assault-type rifle and handgun when he sprayed revellers with bullets at the popular venue, Pulse, in Orlando, Florida. Another possible device was found in the suspect’s vehicle, Mina says.

“Our office sends prayers and deepest sympathy to the people of Orlando and the victims of this horrific shooting”, a tweet said.

Police said the gunman was well prepared and organized and wasn’t from the Orlando area, the New York Times reported. Police had said previously that the shooting was a “mass casualty situation”. The shooter died in a gunfight with those officers.

Early reports on the background of the gunman who slaughtered at least 50 people at a Florida nightclub paint a picture of a violent and prejudiced young man.

Omar Mateen, according to police, called 911 before the shooting and expressed an allegiance to the Islamic State.

– May 23, 2014: A community college student, Elliot Rodger, 22, killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks in the area near the University of California, Santa Barbara, campus.

Authorities have conducted a controlled explosion near the nightclub, according to Orlando police.

As the tragedy was unfolding, Pulse Orlando posted to its Facebook page: “Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running”.

Orlando Police said on the department’s official Twitter account Sunday that media should avoid “reporting inaccuracies”. No further information about Mateen was immediately provided. Officials say one officer was shot, and has injuries to his face.

Just before 6am, the club posted an update: ‘As soon as we have any information we will update everyone.

Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on ‘The Voice’.

Anthony Torres, who was at the club, said he and his friends were leaving the club when the shots were fired just after last call, as the club was nearing closing time. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Mateen bought the guns legally within the last few days.

When he heard shots, Rick dropped to the ground and crawled toward a DJ booth. A bouncer knocked down a partition between the club area and an area in the back where only workers are allowed. People were then able to escape through the back of the club.

Christopher Hansen said he was in the VIP lounge when he started hearing gunshots. “I had to run inside the store, and I saw just a lot of people screaming, crying”.

“You don’t want this to happen anywhere in the world”, Scott said. “I was praying to God that I would live to see another day”.

“He had an automatic rifle, so nobody stood a chance”, said Jackie Smith, who saw two friends next to her get shot. He continued to hear shooting even after he emerged and police urged people to back away from the club. He saw injured people being tended to across the street.

A 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.

Mateen shot about one-third of the people in the packed club, mowing down patrons while many others, some of them bleeding, fled down the darkened streets of the surrounding neighbourhood.

“He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that”, she told the Post.

“We have a strong, resilient community”, he said. ‘That was the last conversation’.

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