Omar Mateen identified as shooter in Orlando Mass shooting and hostage taking at gay club Pulse: 50 dead more than 53 people wounded, gunman killed in standoff with cops, 30 hostages rescued
Security guard Omar Mateen, 29, Afghan-American, identified as shooter in the Mass shooting inside Pulse night club in Orlando FL
Outspoken homophobe, married father of one with radical islamist leanings lived in the town of Port St Louis with wife. Born and raised in US, parents from Afghanistan
The gunman opened fire, took hostages inside night club in Orlando early Sunday
SWAT breached wall of night club to reach gunman who died in shootout, 30 hostages rescued
50 dead, more than 53 people injured including one policeman and transported to local hospital
About 320 people were in the club when the hostage situation unfolded
Gunman heavily armed, strapped with explosive device, hand gun, assault rifle, another device found in his car
FBI classify shooting as ‘an act of terrorism’ – believe man may have leanings towards radical Islamic extremism
Omar Mateen, the gunmanwith known homophobic views
Local media break the news
Two days after the shooting death of youtube sensation Chritina Grimmie at an Orlando night club, there was a mass shooting inside a popular Orlando gay club early Sunday which left as many 42 people wounded, with 3 fatalities including the dunman who died when SWAT teams breached the walls of the club to access the area where he was holding out.
Cops found the gunman dead inside the Pulse nightclub about four hours after the 2 a.m. bloodbath that sparked a tense standoff with police.
Concerned people searching for their loved ones being kept at bay by police
Anywhere from 20 to 40 people were shot at the club where an employee reportedly saw “bodies everywhere,” according to WFTV and WESH-TV.
Witnesses described a frantic scene outside the venue as first responders loaded the wounded into as many vehicles as possible after an assailant opened fire inside the nightclub with a semi-automatic firearm.
Traumatized party goers outside Pulse night club early Sunday morning
“We were just leaving the club and we started hearing the shots,” clubber Anthony Torres told the Daily News. “Everyone was running and screaming.”
Jon Alamo was in the back of the club when he saw the shooter entered and began firing.
“I heard 20, 40, 50 shots,” Alamo said. “The music stopped.”
Orlando Police state there are multiple injuries with reports stating that the attacker is still inside the club and has taken hostag
The injured being helped by their friends
Christopher Hansen was in the VIP area when the tragedy began to unfold.
“I was thinking, are you kidding me? So I just dropped down. I just said, ‘Please, please, please, I want to make it out,’” he said. “And when I did, I saw people shot. I saw blood. You hope and pray you don’t get shot.”
The chaos continued as a barrage of gunshots were heard erupting at the nightclub after police detonated a “controlled explosion.”
Dozens of cops stood outside the Pulse nightclub at daybreak Sunday.
Police later confirmed the shooter was dead just before 6 a.m. and said the incident was a “mass casualty situation.”
Mina Justice rushed to the club to try and find out what happened to her 30-year-old son, Eddie, after he texted her, “He’s coming.”
“The next text said: ‘He has us, and he’s in here with us,”’ she said. “That was the last conversation.”
Wounded are rushed to nearby hospitals following hostage taking and mass shooting inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
A WKMG-TV reporter outside Orlando Regional Medical Center saw cops bring a wounded officer to the emergency room entrance and several injured in the back of a truck.
Another mother desperately looking for her son who was at the nightclub during the attack stood outside the hospital in tears hoping to find him.
“It’s just terrible,” she cried. “He’s my only child. He’s 32. He’s a good kid … I just happened to get up to go the bathroom at 3 a.m. and I saw a note from his friends.”
The area is cordoned off by cops in the after the shooting inside Pulse nightclub Orlando, Florida
Another witness Brett Moots said about two miles of Orange Ave. was locked down by about 60 cop cars.
Moots, who lives across the street from the club, said he saw police officers putting wounded clubbers into the back of pickup truck flatbeds.
“We saw people being taken away with bullet wounds on their arms and abdomen,” Moots told The News.
A person with access to a Facebook page for Pulse issued an urgent message warning anyone listening to “get out of Pulse and keep running.”
An apparent video from outside the nightclub shows cops surrounding the establishment as gunshots ring out, but it’s unclear if the shots were fired by the shooter or police.
The carnage inside the club follows the murder of “The Voice” contestant Christina Grimmie, who was shot to death during a meet-and-greet after her Orlando concert Friday. Pulse is approximately 4 miles from The Plaza Live theater where Grimmie was murdered.
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